Arizona posts tourism record in 2018
Arizona had a good year for tourism in 2018.
It saw a nearly 8% rise in tourism spending to $24.4 billion, which is the highest annual growth for more than a decade, the Arizona Office of Tourism said.
Visitor numbers were up 3%, according to a report released at the annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism.
"We’re celebrating a third year of straight growth in our industry, record numbers. For the first time we hit $1 billion in state tax revenue through tourism, which is great because that pays for essential services throughout the state," Arizona Tourism deputy director Becky Blaine said.
Domestically, the biggest source markets are California, Texas, Illinois, Colorado and Florida.
Cross border visits from Mexico make up the bulk of international visitation at 3.7 million, which is nearly four times the No2 country, Canada at 962,000.
However the share of travelers coming from overseas declined slightly, due in part to the strong US dollar.
There was a 3.7% decline in the number of travelers from China but that was actually lower than the overall decline in travel to the US of 5.7%.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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