“Arizona is loved by many, but there are also many things many people don’t know about it,” said Lisa Urias, director of the Arizona Office of Tourism (AOT). This was stated in the keynote speech at the Autumn Tourism Forum. Thursday, Oct. 10, at Camp Verde. “A lot of people don’t understand the full scope of what Arizona has to offer.”

To change that, she spoke about how AOT is looking at ways to secure more funding for tourism promotion. She also shed light on Arizona’s refreshed brand, released earlier this year, designed to better communicate the state’s “majestic beauty, vibrant culture, and rich diversity.” I made it.

AOT built its brand by traveling hundreds of miles across Arizona and asking more than 2,000 Arizonans in 57 communities what they love about their state. “Arizonas are building and owning a story about who we are, what we value, and what we want to amplify,” Urias said. “Every Arizonan can see a piece of themselves in the new brand.”

The selected color palette includes turquoise, copper, desert sage, pine green, sunset magenta, and warm sand. She said the ponderosa pine represents northern Arizona, the saguaro represents central Arizona, and the hummingbird represents southern Arizona and its desert wildflowers.

Based on the 2023 statistics, Urias gave his reasons for updating the brand: Arizona has 45.2 million overnight guests each year. Direct travel spending by visitors totals $29.3 billion. Tourist spending generates $4.2 billion in taxes. Approximately 187,000 jobs are directly supported by tourism and a further 300,000 jobs are indirectly supported by tourism.

Mr. Urias spoke with business owners and community leaders in Northern Arizona who want to encourage and enhance tourism, highlighting outdoor activities, entertainment, cultural experiences, and sporting activities as the main options for visitors to the state. listed. “Visitors want to experience life as you live it,” she said.

As if in response to AOT’s call to share their lifestyles, Verde Valley winemakers share how Arizona vineyards are making a big splash on the tourism scene through tours and tasting rooms. We talked about what we did.

““People like to see where wine is made,” said Tom Pitts, founding chairman of the Verde Valley Wine Consortium. Citing examples such as Bordeaux and Champagne in France, he pointed out that while people may not remember the specific grapes that were grown, they will remember the region where the vineyards are located. “We are working hard,” he said.

The economic impact of Arizona’s rapidly expanding wine industry on wine lovers worldwide has increased by more than 500% since 2011, according to a recent study conducted for AOT by the Northern Arizona University Economic Policy Institute. It is increasing.

“The tremendous growth of Arizona’s wine industry has been driven by the promotion of the state’s unique grape growing regions, the development of Arizona’s wine industry workforce, the proliferation of tasting rooms and visitable vineyards, and the increased promotion of Arizona Wine Country. This may be due to several factors, including: Tourism Experiences by AOT and more,” reads an AOT news release.

““We believe you can grow any grape on the planet in Arizona,” said Eric Gromsky of Page Springs Cellars, noting the many microzones and opportunities throughout the state. “Even in Arizona, the majority of people don’t know that Arizona wine is world class.”

Ginger McKenzie, owner of Vino Zona, which has wine tasting locations in Jerome, Sedona and Cottonwood, expressed her pleasure in promoting the pioneering spirit of Arizona’s wine industry. “We can be ambassadors for Arizona wine!” she said.

Representatives from the Forest Service also spoke at the forum and shared their efforts to improve the tourism experience. “Recreation is the gateway to understanding and valuing our natural resources and public lands,” said Tom Palmer of the Prescott National Forest.

Forum attendees also heard tips and strategies from members of the news media on how to promote their communities, attractions, and businesses.

““One of the biggest takeaways from the media committee was comments from reporters and editors who said they were approachable and wanted to hear story ideas from the community,” said Ryan, media relations and marketing project manager at Discover Flagstaff. Randazzo said. “While it can sometimes be a little intimidating to reach out to the media, the fact that they took time out of their news reporting to come directly to the scene and encourage rural Arizonans to pitch their stories is amazing. , shows that the media is committed to finding the best stories for people’s audiences. ”

NACOG-Economic and Workforce Development Regional Director Terry Drew called the forum an “overwhelming success,” demonstrating the Economic Development Council’s dedication to Northern Arizona’s thriving tourism sector.

“Participants from Apache, Coconino, Navajo, and Yavapai counties expressed positive feedback and appreciated the opportunity to connect directly with media members, including: quad city business news, as well as gain insight from top leaders in the industry,” said Drew. “With dynamic discussions on sustainable tourism, state and regional cooperation, media panels, AOT, wine panels and forestry initiatives, this forum delivered both practical results and an energizing effect.”

The Autumn Tourism Forum was sponsored in part. flagstaff business news. FBN

Bonnie Stevens, FBN

Photo by V. Ronnie Tierney, Fresh Focuses Photography: Business owners like “Big Mike” of Route 66 Road Relics in Seligman participated in a media panel about promoting business and community in rural Arizona.