Tucson Visitor Statistics

Domestic overnight visitors per year - 4 million
Economic impact of visitors - $3 billion
Median age of visitors - 48 years
Median income of visitors - $71,000
Average length of stay - 4.5 days
Average party size - 2.49 people
Top states of visitor origin including Arizona - California, Colorado, Texas, Illinois, Washington, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, and Oregon

Mexican Visitation and Spending Increased in Pima County

Mexico visitors are a valued market segment for the tourism industry in Tucson. The Mexican Visitors to Arizona, 2007-08 study by the University of Arizona states that Mexican visitors' expenditures in Pima County increased 237% from $289 million to $976 million from 2001 to 2007-08. Pima County receives 36.3% of the total expenditures by Mexican visitors in Arizona. The number of border crossings from Mexico to Arizona increased from 22.91 million in 2001 to 24.02 million in 2007-08, an increase of 4.92%.

According to the study, 13.37 million Mexican visitor parties visit Arizona while 1,008,176 parties' final destination was Tucson. Average party size is 2.68 people. Therefore, Tucson received 2,701,912 Mexican visitors. The percentage of Mexican visitors who stayed overnight in Arizona rose from less than 4% to 16%. This increase is due largely to the increased percentage of visitors to Metro Tucson on overnight visits.

98.9% of Arizona's Mexican visitors are from the state of Sonora. Shopping is still the primary reason for Mexican visitors to the US. Other reasons include visiting friends and family and work. The report attributes $976.4 million in expenditures to Mexican visitors to Pima County (5.2% of Pima County's taxable sales).

The Mexican Visitors to Arizona, 2007-08 study was conducted by the University of Arizona Economic and Business Research Center, reported by the Eller College of Management and sponsored by the Arizona Office of Tourism, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Maricopa County DMOs, and the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Top 10 Metro Tucson shopping destinations for Mexican visitors:

1. Malls/shopping centers
2. Tucson Mall
3. Park Place
4. Foothills Mall
5. Plaza Palomino
6. El Con Mall
7. St. Philip's Plaza
8. La Encantada
9. Casas Adobes Plaza
10. Crossroads

Top 10 Metro Tucson attractions visited by Mexican tourists:

1. Casinos
2. Reid Park Zoo
3. Old Tucson Studios
4. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
5. Other museums
6. Saguaro National Park
7. San Xavier Mission
8. Tucson Convention Center
9. Concerts/theaters
10. Colossal Cave

Party Characteristics and Length of Stay, by Destination

Destination	Number of Parties	Party Size	Average Length of Stay (nights)	Percent Stayed 1 or More Nights
Douglas	1,422,253	1.61	0.07	3.86
Nogales	6,588,778	1.44	0.08	3.86
Metro Phoenix	537,649	2.78	3.27	98.69
San Luis	1,694,225	1.58	0.73	4.71
Metro Tucson	1,008,176	2.68	2.55	87.52
Yuma	1,492,647	1.78	0.90	12.58

Where Mexican Visitors to Metro Tucson Shopped (percent of parties)

Mall/Shopping Center	All Parties	Air Travelers	Car Travelers
Tucson Mall	72.56	80.00	69.55
Park Place Mall	55.67	52.41	56.98
Foothills Mall	13.72	29.66	7.26
Plaza Palomino	7.95	22.07	2.23
El Con Mall	6.96	6.21	7.26
St. Phillips Plaza	5.57	15.17	1.68
La Encantada	3.18	11.03	0.00
Casas Adobes Plaza	2.58	7.59	0.56

Metro Tucson's Attractions Visited by Mexican Visitors

Attraction	All Visitors	Air Travelers	Car Travelers
Casino	29.82	40.00	25.70
Reid Park Zoo	15.71	13.10	16.76
Old Tucson Studios	9.34	13.10	7.82
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum	6.16	10.34	4.47
Museum	3.58	6.90	2.23
Saguaro National Park	1.99	6.21	0.28
San Xavier Mission	1.59	2.07	1.40
Tucson Convention Center	1.59	4.14	0.56
Concert/Theater	0.99	2.07	0.56
Colossal Cave	0.60	1.38	0.28
University of Arizona	0.40	1.38	0.13
Downtown	0.20	0.69	0.13

To download a PDF of The Economic Impacts of Mexican Visitors to Arizona: 2001 report, click here.

To download a PDF of the Mexican Visitors to Arizona: Visitor Characteristics and Economic Impacts, 2007-08 report, click here.

For more information, please contact Kimberly Schmitz, Director of Communications and PR at 520-770-2143.