Arizona visits Vancouver for tourism updates

“We are many people in Arizona. We hope you will be inspired to bring people to come and see. I welcome all of you to come and visit our house.” Those were the opening words from Ken Duncan, a Native American flute player and storyteller, as he welcomed guests to a get-together with the Arizona Office of Tourism (AOT) and partners from destinations throughout the state yesterday afternoon in Vancouver.

The state is making a play to better help travel agents do just that: send clients to see what Arizona has to offer. After nine years without staff dedicated to working directly with the travel trade, AOT has a new director of travel and trade relations and renewed plans to engage with travel professionals. Becky Blaine joined the AOT three months ago and is working to re-establish a trade newsletter and developing a new trade and media website set to launch this fall. Travel agent training will follow in six to nine months, including a certification program for selling Arizona travel.

“Lots of agents are selling Arizona already,” Blaine told PAX, “but with new product coming online, we want to make sure they have the latest and greatest.”

“We know we need to get back to the trade side,” added Tony Alba, AOT’s director of media relations. “We can’t do it alone.”

Becky Blaine, director of travel and trade relations, Arizona Office of Tourism (right)

That new product includes a host of new and renovated hotels throughout the state.

New and Renovated Hotels

Mesa

The Hilton Phoenix/Mesa will unveil its $13 million ongoing renovation in October, and the Phoenix Marriott Mesa will begin an $18 million renovation in January.

Northern Arizona

The Sacred Canyon Lodge at Canyon de Chelly has been renamed the Thunderbird Lodge and is under new management by the Navajo Nation Hospitality Enterprise, with major guest room renovations planned. In Moenkopi, the Legacy Inn & Suites has partnered with Tesla Motors to install high-voltage Tesla charging stations, giving travellers the ability to recharge at the western gateway to the Hopi reservation.

Phoenix

The Camby, part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, opened in January in the former Ritz-Carlton property, and the Luhrs City Center Marriott, now under construction, will open with 320 rooms divided between the Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn by Marriott brands in 2017.

Scottsdale

The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess is expanding with an additional 102 rooms opening this summer, and the Saguaro Scottsdale Hotel is undergoing renovations that will add more than 12,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space, including a 5,285 square-foot event complex. The Saguaro updates, which also include a guest room refresh, will complete in October.

The new Mountain Shadows resort, currently under construction, is set to open in early 2017 with 183 rooms. The Andaz Resort & Spa, designed in a “1950s desert art style,” will open with 201 rooms in November, and the Ritz-Carlton, rumoured to cost $2 billion, will open in 2018.

Sedona

The Courtyard by Marriott Sedona is slated to open in September with 116 rooms, and the Sedona Super 8 will rebrand to the Andante Inn of Sedona later this month, with renovated guest rooms that include newly added balconies.

Tempe

Marriott opened the first U.S. location of its Moxy hotel brand in Tempe this spring. The 186-room Moxy Tempe is part of a new brand “for Millennials and Millennial-minded travellers,” said Toni Smith, director of communications for the Tempe Tourism Office. The AC Hotel Phoenix Tempe/Downtown opened in June with 159 guest rooms.

Tucson

The AC Hotel by Marriot is scheduled to open downtown with 137 rooms in summer 2017. In renovations, the Hacienda Del Sol Guest Ranch has doubled its number of rooms to 60, and the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort completed a major renovation earlier this year. The Hilton Tucson El Conquistador is currently undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation that will complete in 2017.

Promotions

Scottsdale is continuing its Loonie Love promotion for Canadians, including a book three nights, get one free offer at The Phoenician, an extension just announced yesterday. “We’re doing everything we can to keep our Canadian friends close,” said Megan Neighbor, director of communications for the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Air

Allegiant Air, which flies from Bellingham to the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, is phasing out its B756 and MD-80 aircraft, replacing them with Airbus A319 and A320s. More than half of Allegiant travellers will fly on Airbus aircraft by the end of 2016, and the airline will operate an all-Airbus fleet by the end of 2019.

Until the trade website launches later this year, travel professional can learn more at the AOT’s new consumer website, VisitArizona.com.