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Sedona Defaults on Festival Tourism Says Citizen

J. Rick Normand

Sedona AZ (June 14, 2011)- In a Letter to the SedonaEye.com editor, Sedona Arizona resident J. Rick Normand takes the Sedona City Council and Mayor to task for failing to see the economic handwriting on the wall: 

Dear Mayor and Sedona City Council,

Sedona, Arizona has completely and utterly defaulted the world of festival tourism structured as signature experiences to the cities of Durango, Colorado and Park City, Utah.

Why is it that the last two Sedona City Councils can’t seem to see the economic handwriting on the wall?

You all want to live or die on the destination/day traveler tourism umbilical cord, but you can’t even figure out how to target funds at existential drivers of consumerism/tourism! I’m concerned about “how” the currently proposed tourism marketing allocation gets spent…especially under contract with the Sedona Chamber of Commerce.

There is a big difference between festival attendees and destination travelers. The former are fanatically loyal to the types of events that festivals lend themselves to, therefore, festival attendees are not subject to the whims of discretionary spending!

Notwithstanding, destination tourists (much less day tourists like we mostly get here in Sedona) are more than ever sensitive to prioritization of their discretionary spending. Discretionary spending is about to take another major hit so advertising dollars spent to attract those people will produce little yield.
 
To make matters worse, destination tourists want a myriad of activities to enjoy…what do we have? Contrary to what our Chamber says, destination travelers won’t sit around and enjoy Sedona red rocksfor all of our daylight hours (especially during hot summers) and then be faced with absolutely nothing to do after dark either!
 
Festival people will come here for the event, not just our red rocks. Our Chamber of Commerce hasn’t figured this out after observing the effects of the devastated U.S. economy on Sedona’s tourism market for three years now. Sedona can no longer afford to misunderstand this difference. Durango and Park City figured this out almost five years ago and designed a series of signature events to fill hotels with event-centric tourists, while Sedona just can’t seem to read the handwriting on the economic wall.
 
Sedona needs to target the assured spender, not the discretionary spender. Therefore, Sedona ought to spend marketing money on a professional festival marketing consultant instead of squandering money on advertising targeted at the very people who cancel reservations the minute bad economic news hits the headlines. 
 
Even I can figure out that the dynamics of festival sponsorship are as follows: 

#1: Sequential Timing

Sponsor 119 festivals per year (as Durango does) while requiring a minimum of three days of events by festival sponsors. That way, you will keep most of your hotels occupied year round.

#2: Sponsors, Sponsors, Sponsors

Spend the bulk of your tourism marketing dollars on acquiring corporate sponsors who see a benefit to backing festivals that will be photographed against a Sedona backdrop which they can use for other marketing purposes.

Partnerships with your sponsors should be relationships in which both the City and they benefit equally.

Save money and increase your revenue by having sponsors make products and provide services for your events in exchange for advertising opportunities. There is no point in purchasing these things if your sponsors can and will be more than happy to do it for free!

#3: Outside Vendors

If you bring in outside vendors to sell their merchandise or services at your event for a fee, you can increase your funds. This is a good way to keep your spectators entertained and should be easy to do.

Area businesses, especially ones that are specific to your sport industry, are eager to have a booth or tent at competitions to sell their products to interested consumers.

You can also bring in area restaurants to provide food. Additionally, your area business commerce associations, tourist organizations, and recreation departments should be willing to have representatives at your events to distribute pamphlets and information since your events will involve your communities in multiple ways.

#4: Volunteers

Recruit volunteers to work your event instead of hiring people.

Typically your organization is made up of members who should be more than willing to help out at your event. While you may have to hire outside vendors and people for some things necessary to run your event, there are plenty of opportunities to find volunteers. You can place advertisements online, in newspapers, and even on your event posters asking for volunteers. You can also look to schools and colleges in the area that have clubs that correspond to your sport and ask them for help.

#5: Contests and Activities

Contests and activities can be a great way to increase revenue during your competitions. Attendees can pay a certain amount to participate and if you offer prizes you can attract a lot of participants. This is also a great way to involve your sponsors. Suggest to them that they can sponsor a contest or event during your competition to gain even more exposure to potential consumers.

#6: Event Paraphernalia

Everyone loves to show off different events they have participated in by wearing a t-shirt, a hat, or even a backpack.

An easy way to generate revenue is to sell paraphernalia at your event to spectators. Typically event organizers will give event paraphernalia to participants, but you could ask for a certain donation amount in order to receive different event-gear. Plus, this can be low cost if you get your sponsors involved and they assist you in creating the paraphernalia in exchange for advertisement.

#7: Online Registration

Make your registration process simple and widely accessible and you will get more people to register.

To achieve this, create a website that accepts online registrations. Most people these days are keen on getting everything done online, this includes registering for events. There are many solutions available for online event management and online registration. The good ones will provide resources and capabilities to manage volunteers, track your budget, and provide turn-key credit card processing.

With all due respect,

J. Rick Normand, Sedona Arizona”

Read SedonaEye.com daily!

 

4 Comments

  1. N. Baer says:

    Great ideas, Rick. It certainly does solve the “less than impressive” hotel accomodation rate. Businesses would have to collaborate in order to insure that the festival scenario would be successful AND the City (and not the Chamber – that does not represent all Sedona businesses) would have to hire a premium event organizer which is what has been needed for some time.

  2. Cmdr. J. Ronald Wheeler, Sedona says:

    On Saturday, July 23, the Sedona Uptown area will be hosting two different public events, the National Day of the Cowboy, and the Get Your Pig On BBQ competition. If your travel plans include traveling on N. SR 89A through the Sedona uptown area, expect traffic delays due to increased pedestrian and vehicular traffic. (Editor’s note: Wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for Sedona sunshine. No public transportation is available so carpool, park legally, expect to walk, pack water, and enjoy our City’s beautiful red rock events.)

    For information contact Cmdr. J. Ronald Wheeler #377 with questions at 928-203-5004.

  3. Jo Ann Jones says:

    cowboy day bbq ok but not worth traffic & high price junk in sedona stores. get the same stuff anyplace in az. not worth gas from prescott. sedona rocks (pretty awesome bell rock) & that’s it; not sure event planner can help

    try & see

    Jo Ann Jones & friend Mark

  4. Lin Ennis says:

    Great ideas, Rick. It’s practically a business plan. The Birding Festival is one Sedona could easily build up more, especially when we get our wetlands recreational area built. Another festival I would like to see is hot air balloons. Don’t know how much acreage it would take, but we have about 400 at the wastewater plant. There are also the areas the local balloon companies use, such as FR 335.

    We can’t attract conferences, which would provide much of the same loyalty you mention, because we don’t have a venue that will seat 1500 or more people.

    (Still mourning the loss of our Cultural Park…which was part of what drew us here…we daydreamed about all the happy times we would have there. Hard to fathom how badly it was mismanaged!)

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