Dwayne Cassidy

PAGE — A front-page story in the Arizona Daily Sun about Flagstaff’s tourism supposedly flattening was frightening enough for a Page City Councilor to request that tourism director Dwayne Cassidy give the council a formal report Thursday regarding how the local tourism industry was doing.

According to Cassidy, the number of visitors is staying steady, and he pointed out that lower sales tax figures from the hotel industry can be misleading. This year’s sales tax revenues are up from the 2006-07 fiscal year, he said, with the city raking in $5.98 million from the sales tax compared to $5.26 million last year.

“Based on the tax revenues, we are seeing a very solid season,” Cassidy said.

He noted that most hotels in the community are filled to capacity, and he is hoping that a proposed hotel along U.S. 89 near Denny’s will help to keep his tourism bureau from turning away visitors because there are no rooms available.

Cassidy noted that tax revenues could not be the only indicator that tourism is good, as businesses are apt to raise prices from time to time. Visitation numbers for the local tourism bureau and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area have shown modest increases in the last four to five years, as have the numbers at Grand Canyon National Park, Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park.

“There was a blip; 2005 was very busy. Gas prices were very low, the economy was coming along, and then things went down in 2006,” Cassidy said. “In 2007, the dollar went down, foreign tourism went up, and things have really been coming along.”

Traffic counters around Page have also shown increases. The one located along U.S. 89 near Bittersprings has increased from 2.9 million in 2004 to 3.5 million in 2007. The counter near Wahweap showed 7 million vehicles traveling the highway in 2004 before dropping to 6.3 million in 2006 and rebounding to 7.7 million in 2007.

Cassidy pointed out that some local folks have been concerned that travelers might be using U.S. 89A to journey to Utah and bypassing Page and Lake Powell entirely. He said the traffic counter for U.S. 89A from Bittersprings to Jacob Lake showed a decrease of 600,000 vehicles annually along that highway.

Page’s hotel occupancy rate has also increased, with 54 percent occupancy in 2007 and 57 percent so far in 2008. It is below the current national rate of 72 percent, but Cassidy attributed the gap to Page being a seasonal destination and not a year-round one. He added that not all local hotels report their occupancy numbers.

“We don’t have an organization here in town, a lodgers’ association, that gathers these numbers, and I have to tell you, it is very difficult to get this information from the broad base of hoteliers in this town. In fact, it is practically impossible,” Cassidy said.

The reason that revenues from taxes imposed on hotels has dropped is not because the number of visitors has dropped. Cassidy explained that hotels give tour buses that stay in the community for the night a special rate, which is lower than the rate charged for an average guest. Page has seen a dramatic increase in the number of buses that stop here for lodging.

“The rooms were sold, but they weren’t sold at the average daily rate,” Cassidy said.

Councilor Elmer Horton requested Cassidy’s presence at the council meeting. A story with the headline “Tourism slows to a crawl” ran in the July 14 Sun, showing recent numbers of people visiting Flagstaff’s tourism bureau that indicated the number of visitors in Flagstaff overall was dropping. A correction ran July 15 showing that incorrect figures were reported.

Cassidy pointed out that the article did not look at sales tax revenues and room occupancies. He noted that the correction showed there was questionable and biased journalism.

“When I read the article, there was one thing about the journalism that bothered me,” Cassidy said. “Bluntly, they used one figure to base a whole story on, and if we judged how tourism was in our community by the numbers of people who come in our tourism bureau, I think we would be remiss. I think the writer of this article did a disservice to the public and to the efforts of the Flagstaff Convention and Visitors Bureau.”

After the meeting, Horton said he was more at ease with the local tourism situation. Horton has frequently been a critic of the level of funding Page’s tourism bureau receives from the city.

“My concern at the beginning was (furnishing) $300,000 for this guy,” he said. “I don’t know if I still want him to have $300,000, but I feel better about things.”

Share on Facebook