Arizona Tribal Lands Attract High-Value Visitors

According to a recent study from the Arizona Office of Tourism, tribal lands in Arizona are attracting high-quality visitors who stay longer & spend more on lodging, shopping & entertainment than Arizona visitors generally.

The study was conducted over an 18-month period by the Arizona Hospitality Research & Resource Center at N.A.U. The Survey of Visitors to Arizona’s Tribal Lands included the participation of 7 tribes & 1 tribal enterprise throughout the state & shows visitors to these areas are older, have higher incomes, stay longer & spend more than visitors to Arizona in general. The reported average annual household income was $102,000, much higher than the $72,700 average for Arizona domestic overnight visitors. Visitors shopping on tribal lands in Arizona spent an about of $198 per-party/per-day. Sightseeing, recreation & shopping were the dominant reasons for visiting, with general sightseeing accounting for more than 52% of activities. More than 54% of the visitors indicated the tribe as the trips primary destination, & nearly 60% of visitors used word-of-mouth & recommendations from friends & family when planning their trip. Overall visitor satisfaction was high, ranking 9.2 on a scale from 1 to 10 (where 10 is totally satisfied) & 98% of visitors would recommend a trip to their friends & family. Moreover, more than half of visitors (56.5 percent) were repeat travelers to tribal lands.

The study also highlighted areas of opportunity for the tribes, such as additional product development to attract families. Currently, only 11% of travel parties included children under the age of 18. Based on the low number of visitors (12.2 percent) who relied on the Internet for information, tribes may also benefit from Web sites that are geared specifically to the cultural visitor market & contain detailed visitor information.