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The Governor’s Conference on Tourism is bein g held this week at the Westin Kierland Resorr and Spain Scottsdale, attractinbg industry executives and hoteliers from acrosd the state. Numbers released Thursday as part of that event show the impacrt of the economic downturn onthe state’ s multimillion-dollar hospitality industry. “The lodging industry is clearltyin pain. Hotel economies track what is happeningv in the rest of the said Arizona Tourism DirectorSherry Henry. The state figures show 37.4 million peoplde visited Arizona in2008 — a 3 percentt decline from 2007. About 26 million leisure traveleras spent time in a declineof 3.
3 percent; while business trave was down 7.6 percent, to 6.3 milliomn visitors. Direct spending by visitores to the state declinex by a little more than 3 percenin 2008, to $18.5 The numbers also show the impact of resident s staying closer to home. While nonresident travel to the statwe was downabout 4.7 percent, to 22.6 about 9.8 million Arizonans traveled within the a decline of only 2.9 And even though overseas visitors made up 2.8 percent of the state’sx total visitors, more than half a million Canadianse traveled to Arizona, mostly from Ontario and British Columbia. Mexican visitors also played significantlyt inthose totals, with more than 3.85 million traveling to Arizona.
While the averagwe daily rate of a room in Arizona last year was a bit higher than the national ADRof $106.5, thos e numbers have not remaine strong. Tourism figures released for the firstquartee — typically the high tourist season show the hospitality industry is still challenged by the Statewide, ADR was down 13.8 percent, from $132.72 in first-quarterr 2008 to $114.47 in first-quarter 2009. In metro Phoenix, ADR sank 16 from $160.87 in first-quarter 2008 to $135.08 in first-quarterf 2009. Because metro Phoenix boasts manyluxurious upper-tierd resorts, daily rates in the region are somewhaf higher than statewide figures.
Meanwhile, hoteliers continu e to try to fill their Occupancy rates were 74 perceny for the first quarter of 2008 in metrp Phoenix thanks to hosting a Super Bowl, but occupancy was just 63 percent for the first quarter of 2009 — a 14.7 percent decline. Revenuer per available room, a measure of earnings from each hotel dropped 28.3 percent, from $119.1 5 to $85.37. Henry and other members of the Tourisj Office are trying to builrd business through targeted marketing campaigns andthe “Valued Arizona” Web site, a one-stop online shop for the state’s hotelzs and destinations to tout their valu packages and programs.
More than 300 packages and destinations across the stateware featured. The Tourism Office also will launchna “Free to Be” marketin g campaign in select including Chicago, Los Angeles and Denver, whic will focus on how Arizona propertiees cater to different travelers’ from outdoorsmen to families to the shoppingb crowd. Those cities are being targetef because research shows those from more farawayu destinations stay in Arizona longer andspend more, bringing new monegy to the state. In addition, the Tourism Office has launchex Facebook and Twitter options to interacy directlywith travelers.
The downturn also has affectexd theTourism Office, which is subject to the states hiring freeze and is facingf budget cuts of about 4.5 milliob in this fiscal Henry said that will impac t some marketing efforts, not
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