Our small but mighty tourism team has done a phenomenal job since the pandemic began in balancing strategic marketing without over-promoting.
The city staff that makes up our DMO includes Community Outreach Manager John Heiney; Tourism and Economic Initiatives Manager Ann Steward; Tourism and Economic Initiatives Coordinator Cristina Nicole Binkley; and Front Burner Media Marketing Agency’s Heather Hermen. Supporting the tourism office is a 10-member Tourism Advisory Committee (TAC), whose role is to advise, provide guidance and assist with strategic direction to the tourism office staff. Funding for this office comes from Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), commonly referred to as Bed Tax. The tax is paid by visitors who stay in hotels, bed and breakfasts and vacation rentals located inside the city limits. State statute and Prescott’s Bed Tax ballot language require that this tax revenue is invested in tourism promotion and recreational amenities and development.
In early March of 2022, the TAC and the tourism office staff completed a four-day strategic planning session facilitated by the Coraggio Group. The session resulted in clearly defining areas of focus for the tourism office, success measures and metrics, and initiatives moving forward over the next three years.
The primary responsibilities of a DMO are to promote an area as an attractive travel destination, develop long-term tourism strategies, and create marketing and public relations campaigns. The tourism office also works closely with the Arizona Office of Tourism (AOT) on co-op marketing programs, trade shows, sales missions and familiarization tours (FAMs). The Prescott Tourism Office promotes the entire Prescott area as a whole and focuses on all segments of travel, including leisure, meeting and events, sports, outdoor recreation, culture and themes, such as Arizona’s Christmas City.
The revenue generated by the Bed Tax combined with a successful DMO not only supports sales and marketing functions, but also benefits local residents. A large percentage of Bed Tax collections is invested back into the community in the form of recreation service projects, the downtown parking garage, World’s Oldest Rodeo, Arizona’s Christmas City signature events and museum support.
In fiscal year 2023, 26 local non-profit organizations will benefit by receiving grant money for a variety of music, cultural and recreational events. Since the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, Prescott’s economy had only a minor slowdown. Tourism industry data and sales and lodging tax reports show healthy increases over and above 2019 levels, which was a record-breaking year. Our small but mighty tourism team has done a phenomenal job since the pandemic began in balancing strategic marketing without over-promoting. We know that tourism is a major economic driver for our community and there is a team of dedicated, experienced professionals focused on making sure this industry stays robust so all of our small businesses remain successful. QCBN
By Margo Christensen
For questions or additional information, please email me at
margo@ponderosahotels.com or call 928-925-6593.
Margo Christensen is the vice president of marketing and public relations for Ponderosa Hotel Management Services, LLC (SpringHill Suites and Residence Inn by Marriott).
SpringHill Suites by Marriott is located in downtown Prescott and Residence Inn by Marriott is located across from Trader Joe’s in Prescott.
