Tourism key to local economy; Area leaders look at ways to capitalize on tourists

By David Bell

Today's News-Herald

KINGMAN - Tourism falls right behind microelectronics and ahead of the aerospace industry in bringing outside dollars to Arizona. That's according to studies compiled by Northern Arizona University's Hospitality Research and Resource Center.

Thomas Combrink, senior research specialist for NAU, told the North River Economic Region that tourism accounts for 3.1 percent of Arizona's gross state product.

“Compare that to California where tourism is only 2.8 percent of its gross state product and the U.S. where it's only 2.5 percent of the gross domestic product,” Combrink said.

Those tourism numbers translate into $17.5 billion in direct expenditures in Arizona, $2.1 billion in tax revenues and 313,000 jobs.

But those jobs aren't translating into livable wages to those employed within the hospitality sector.

“I have no answer on the wages,” Combrink said. “What we have found is that when there is a commitment at the business level to pay better wages, people stay in their jobs longer. Business can retain staff.”

The North River Economic Region is made up of economic development agencies of the three cities in Mohave County, La Paz County and the Fort Mojave and Hualapai Indian tribes.

The wage discussion prompted the only disagreement among the economic developers gathered to hear Combrink. Jack Ehrhardt, planning director for the Hualapai Tribe, said “there's no value to the community for a business to be a cheapskate.”

“But profit is not a bad word,” said Bob Riley, director of economic development for the Kingman Airport Authority. “We have to look at how profit can be beneficial to the community.”

Combined with increases in tourists, increased population is a factor for communities that rely heavily on tourism dollars.

Combrink said a growing number of vacationers are staying in-state or traveling to adjacent states.

“We anticipate a 108 percent increase in the growth of (Arizona) population by 2030. And by 2036, 20 percent of Arizona's population 65-years-old or older,” Combrink said. “Because of that, workforce development is the buzzword.”

Combrink said the aging of the baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, would color the activities tourists will look for in a vacation. And as equipment improves and changes, the desired activity by the tourist will change.

“People have tons of money invested in their toys. They want to use them,” said Gary Kellogg, president and CEO of the Lake Havasu Partnership for Economic Development.

Riley called Lake Havasu City “a test tube” for the other areas of the county to observe the variety of tourists a city can attract.

“I know I'm preaching to the choir, but tourism is important to the rural counties of Arizona,” Combrink said.

The NAU Hospitality Research and Resource Center assisted Arizona State Parks on a marketing study, which will include profiles of Lake Havasu State Park and Buckskin Mountain State Park on the Colorado River in La Paz County. The marketing studies should be available to local agencies in November.