July 2008 e-Newsletter
Welcome to TourISm Tucson (pronounced "Tourism Is Tucson"), your monthly e-newsletter from the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau (MTCVB). Each month, we invite you to use this medium to stay informed of news and other information that will help ensure your success as a partner of Tucson's tourism community.
Market your Business to Millions
As a member of Tucson's tourism industry, you know it makes good sense to partner with the MTCVB. When you partner with Tucson's official destination marketing organization, you are part of an award-winning team that includes businesses, both large and small, offering goods and services to millions of visitors every year. As an MTCVB partner, you help support our efforts to promote the Tucson area to leisure and business travelers; you also help the MTCVB help you and other partners claim your shares of the more than $2.3 billion tourism adds to our local economy annually.
Here are just four ways your MTCVB partnership helps your business flourish: (1) you increase your visibility through listings in our publications and on our website; (2) you have access to the inside scoop on upcoming meetings and conventions that appear in our convention and tour calendar; (3) you can attend or exhibit at networking events and educational seminars; and (4) you can participate in co-op advertising opportunities, trade shows, and marketing events around the world. More information about these and many other benefits available to MTCVB partners is available online at the Partner Benefits page at www.visitTucson.org.
Work It!
Governor's Conference on Tourism
July 9-11 at The Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa. Mark your calendars for the 28th Annual Governor's Conference on Tourism. To register for the conference, please visit the Governor's Conference website.
First Tuesday: Birding: Southern Arizona's Feathered Jewel
Tuesday, Aug. 5, 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Arizona Inn, 2200 E. Elm St. Tucson AZ 85719. Featuring Dr. Paul Green, Executive Director, Tucson Audubon Society. Sponsored by Subway-Downtown Tucson. For more information or to RSVP, click here.
First Tuesday: Tucson's Prominence in the World of Cycling
Tuesday, Sept. 2, 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Arizona Inn, 2200 E. Elm St. Featuring Matthew Zoll, Bicycling and Pedestrian Program Manager, Pima County Department of Transportation. Sponsored by Pima Community College Center for the Arts. For more information or to RSVP, click here.
Update Your Listing
Tuesday, Sept. 30 is the deadline to update your listing for the 2009 Spring/Summer Tucson Official Destination Guide (formerly Official Visitors Guide) and the Professional Planners Edition of the Tucson Official Destination Guide (formerly Destination Planning Guide)--changes can take up to 48 hours to appear. If you have any questions call Laurie White at (520) 770-2131 or e-mail lwhite@visitTucson.org
First Tuesday: Tucson/Canada Partnership
Tuesday, Oct. 7, 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Arizona Inn, 2200 E. Elm St., Tucson AZ 85719. Featuring
Rick Stephenson, Consul and Senior Trade Commissioner, Canadian Consulate Trade Office. Sponsored by Encore Creative. For more information or to RSVP, click here.
First Tuesday: Update on Tucson's New Downtown Arena
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Arizona Inn, 2200 E. Elm St. Featuring Rich Singer, Director, Tucson Convention Center. Sponsored by Tucson Jazz Society. For details or to RSVP, click here.
First Tuesday: It's All About Tucson--Marketing Our World-Class Destination
Tuesday, Dec. 2, 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Arizona Inn, 2200 E. Elm St. Featuring Toby Parks, Director of Marketing, MTCVB. Sponsored by Madden Media. For details or to RSVP, click here.
Use It!
Take Stock of Visitor Center Promotions
Summer is when many tourism partners prepare for the coming high season. If you subscribe to the Tucson Visitor Center brochure distribution program, now is a good time to review your product. Stop by the visitor center to check your brochure inventory and update information that is no longer current. The visitor center volunteers will welcome you and they appreciate hearing news of interest to visitors. Brochure distribution is an optional benefit of MTCVB partnership, available for $150 per year. For more details, contact Laurie White at lwhite@visitTucson.org. The Tucson Visitor Center is open Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat. and Sun. 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Tucson's Birthday Celebration
If your business is planning a public event anytime in August, the Tucson Birthday Celebration committee wants to help you promote it. The committee, led by Tucson pioneer Cele Peterson, encourages local residents to celebrate our city's actual birthday, August 20, 1775, with a month-long series of public events for all ages. You can submit your August event to the Tucson Birthday Celebration website calendar, as long as the event includes a public acknowledgement of the city's birthday. More information is at the Tucson Birthday Celebration website.
We're Here to Help
The MTCVB Partner Development department is here to help you. We have answers to questions about your partnership and suggestions for marketing your business to the more than 4 million travelers who visit Tucson every year. Our Partner Services Manager, Laurie White is your first contact for questions and comments about your partnership with the MTCVB; contact her at lwhite@visitTucson.org.
Know It!
Website Gets Rock-Climbing Page
We've added information on rock climbing to our Outdoor Adventure & Nature page at www.visitTucson.org. The new Rock Climbing page describes why experts say the mountain ranges of Tucson and Southern Arizona offer some of the best climbing in the Southwestern United States; it also offers information for visitors interested in learning rock climbing technique and safety skills before venturing out into our great outdoors.
New Requirements for North American Travel
Citizens of both the United States and Canada must present either a compliant document, such as a government-issued photo ID or a driver's license; plus proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, when traveling by land or sea. For more details, visit the website of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
I-10 Widening Alert
Work is currently in progress on widening I-10 from Prince Road to 29th Street. The three-year project is scheduled for summer 2007 through spring 2010. For details and updates call the information hotline at 520-327-6444, 1-877-961-1010, or click here.
4th Avenue Underpass Update
Traffic alerts related to construction, detours, and closures during the 4th Avenue Underpass construction project in downtown Tucson are issued periodically and are available online. To find out more, click here.
Links to MTCVB Resources
Follow the links below to read about a variety of MTCVB resources:
Tucson Tourism Statistics
Tucson Ambassadors Program (CTANetwork.com)
New Partners & Partner Anniversaries
MTCVB Visitor Inquiries / May 2008
Information requests: 6,058
Walk-in visitors: 3,419
Website unique visitors: 248,363
Year-to-Date (July 2007-May 2008)
Information requests: 152,614
Walk-in visitors: 49,588
Website unique visitors: 2,837,602
