AIRLINE ACTIVITY: American and United Airlines continue to see increases in enplanements. American averaging 78% load factor; United averaging 83% load factor; American is bringing LAX – Los Angeles back on Saturdays starting August 24 th . Had a record month (June numbers) 12, 470 passengers leaving Flagstaff with over 25,000 going through the terminal. TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT: The airport team, police department, and streets worked together to manage the flow of traffic in front of the airport terminal. It is critical that we get traffic to slow down, especially around the corners as there are several crosswalks in front of the terminal building. PD had a great idea to put a temporary stop sign on the road as you drive up to the terminal building and Streets helped us by supplying temporary signs. The feedback from our passengers has been extremely positive. So far it seems to be a very effective speeding deterrent. VISITORS: Petra Kellner was spotted at Wiseman Aviation. Mr. Kellner is number 73 on Forbes list of Billionaires and the richest man in the Czech Republic. This was the jet he flew into Flagstaff. 7 military helicopters came and stayed with us for a few days. They were passing through from CA and headed back to their bases in OH and PA. FACILITIES: Construction began to build the new bag x-ray room. This project will help to speed up the process of checking in and getting through TSA. AIRPORT PARKING: Staff continue to work on a solution for the parking situation. There will be more on this subject moving forward. For now, we ask that you kindly consider being dropped off and picked up when you fly. Thank you for all you do to, ALWAYS FLY FLAGSTAFF FIRST! RUNWAY SAFETY ACTION TEAM MEETING: The RSAT held a meeting this at Wiseman Aviation. The goal of these meetings is to have the Air Traffic Control Tower staff meet with local pilots, airport staff, and even the public to discuss safety concerns. The meeting was well attended and included a few FAA employees from Phoenix. There were also a few concerned citizens from Kachina Village in attendance. There were no major infractions to report.
Transcript
AIRLINE ACTIVITY: American and United Airlines continue to see increases in enplanements.
American averaging 78% load factor;
United averaging 83% load factor;
American is bringing LAX – Los Angeles back on Saturdays starting August 24th.
Had a record month (June numbers) 12, 470 passengers leaving Flagstaff with over 25,000 going through the terminal.
TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT: The airport team, police department, and streets worked together to manage the flow of traffic in front of the airport terminal. It is critical that we get traffic to slow down, especially around the corners as there are several crosswalks in front of the terminal building. PD had a great idea to put a temporary stop sign on the road as you drive up to the terminal building and Streets helped us by supplying temporary signs. The feedback from our passengers has been extremely positive. So far it seems to be a very effective speeding deterrent. VISITORS:
Petra Kellner was spotted at Wiseman Aviation. Mr. Kellner is number 73 on Forbes list of Billionaires and the richest man in the Czech Republic. This was the jet he flew into Flagstaff.
7 military helicopters came and stayed with us for a few days. They were passing through from CA and headed back to their bases in OH and PA.
FACILITIES: Construction began to build the new bag x-ray room. This project will help to speed up the process of checking in and getting through TSA. AIRPORT PARKING: Staff continue to work on a solution for the parking situation. There will be more on this subject moving forward. For now, we ask that you kindly consider being dropped off and picked up when you fly. Thank you for all you do to, ALWAYS FLY FLAGSTAFF FIRST! RUNWAY SAFETY ACTION TEAM MEETING: The RSAT held a meeting this at Wiseman Aviation. The goal of these meetings is to have the Air Traffic Control Tower staff meet with local pilots, airport staff, and even the public to discuss safety concerns. The meeting was well attended and included a few FAA employees from Phoenix. There were also a few concerned citizens from Kachina Village in attendance. There were no major infractions to report.
NAU FLYS FLAGSTAFF: NAU is gearing up for another school season. They began coordination with airport staff to greet about 150 exchange students that will be flying in over a span of 3 days in August. We are working with them to accommodate their needs while facilitating the flow of traffic both outside and inside the terminal. THANKS NAU!
NEW BUSINESS: Grand Canyon Brewing Company plans to open their doors next month just off Milton Road in Flagstaff.
FLAGSTAFF INTERNSHIP NETWORK: BR&E staff convened the Flagstaff Internship Network to continue efforts to
develop collateral materials and a web presence. Materials developed by the Convention and Visitor Bureau Creative
Team were received very well. A smaller group will meet to vision the web presence in the next week.
SALES TAX OUTREACH: BR&E staff assisted the Revenue Office to connect with area businesses to present important
changes. The sales tax rate changed this month so it was critical to meet with the business community.
TeamLogicIT: Business Attraction and Business Retention staff met the owner of the local branch of TeamLogicIT, Rob
Fallows. The owner shared his story of becoming the owner of TeamLogicIT which included several years as a
technology expert for large international businesses. The owner is excited to bring his experience to small businesses in
Flagstaff. The owner will provide marketing collateral materials so that staff may share that information with other
businesses who may need such support.
ROUTE 66 – ALL COMMUNITY MEETING Community Investment and
Visitor Center staff participated in an all-day meeting hosted by the
Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona last Friday in Williams to network
with Route 66 business owners, roadies, and tourism ambassadors.
Informal presentations by city representatives and business
owners located along the Route updated attendees on
opportunities, constraints, and some successes.
Highlights included presentations by City of Williams’ Mayor on
the history of Williams post- Route 66 decommissioning and how the decision was made to focus on neon as a
post-66 tourism experience, possible National Historic Trail status for Route 66 by staff from the National Park
Service’s Santa Fe office, and how to use consistent branding on social media platforms to advertise tourism
related goods and services.
CI staff briefly presented the Walk This Talk program that is currently up and running.
Beautification Arts & Sciences
Business Attraction, Retention, and Expansion
EAST ROUTE 66 – SOUTH EDGE: FANNING TO ROUTE 66 CI staff has produced this conceptual berm, sandstone
retaining wall, and landscaping design to extend the screening of BNSF and industrial facilities along the south edge of
Route 66. Location shown is the southeast corner of Fanning Drive and Route 66. As envisioned, the screening would
begin on the east side of Fanning Drive and extend to the Route 66 Wayside Park.
Existing Proposed
Conceptual Plan
PARKFLAG OPERATIONS: With the implementation of the Flowbird mobile application, we have
received reports that some customers have received e-mail notifications to switch over to the new application. We expect more customers to receive the notifications in the next few weeks.
Parking staff helped lend their services as ambassadors during the 4th of July parade and activities this year. They received many compliments for helping our patrons.
Parking staff continue to get nice letters and emails sent to them for their ‘warning’ system where they offer a warning to a person who has parked downtown, but not paid. They use this “one on us” system to educate people about paying at the kiosk and more.
Validation Code Information was created by the CVB to help get the word out on the program.
EAST FLAGSTAFF PROGRAMMING: EFCL rolled out a new program this summer: Lego Storytelling. While Legos are
usually associated with STEM programming, this program provided a literacy element by allowing children to create
visual stories with Legos and then narrate them. Photos were taken to illustrate the progression of the stories. Patron
feedback was very positive with one parent writing, “It allowed us to have fun and use our imagination. Please have it
again!”
STAFF CHANGES: EFCL has a new Supervisor; Barbara Tait started on July 1st. She brings with her a strong background
in youth services, community outreach, and grant management. We are excited to have her as part of the team!
AZ STATE MEMORY PROJECT: Hosted a successful and well attended AZ State Library Arizona Memory Project
Presentation discussing the process of adding digital collections to the State Library online repository. Attendees from
libraries in multiple Arizona counties contributed to informative discussions involving their digital projects.
FOREST LAKES COMMUNITY LIBRARY PROGRAMMING: The
library hosted a teen party with 20 teens and six adults. There
were volleyball, stackers and indoor games. The teens were made
aware of the reading contest we are having this summer.
Another program, Christmas in July, had kids decorating Santa
hats with glitter and other items. There were 27 kids and 15 adults.
All families were made aware of our current reading contest for all
ages.
SUMMER READING CHALLENGE ENDS: The annual Summer Reading Challenge ended after seven weeks of near daily programming!! Kudos to the staff at both libraries for their hard work to make A Universe of Stories a great experience for all! 1,417 youth registered for the event with 738 completing it. That’s 52% completion compared to last year’s 47%. These amazing kids read a total of 1,244,182 minutes or 2.36 years of reading in one summer!
ADULT SRC: Not to be outdone, the adult program had 227 finishers out of 573 registered and read a total of 870,856 minutes (1.66 years)!
o Between both programs our participants read a total of 35,250 hours.
PATRON COMMENTS ON SRC: We asked 3 questions on the post-SRC survey. Here are some of the responses:
1) What did you or your child/teen like most about participating in the summer reading program? “Reading together as a family. The kids loved getting a new book for reaching halfway to their
goal.” “Our family has enjoyed access to the library with the wide range of options. We have valued
the books on audio for long cars [sic] rides.” “The amount of events and activities hosted by the library.” “I liked the excuse to read Life gets busy so I don’t always read as much as I like, but it was
been fun to let myself sit down and devour books as I used to.” 2) What could the Library do to help you or your child/teen continue to learn more?
“It would be nice to have more teen-specific programming”
LIBRARY:
“Create more missions to promote learning new things.” “I think the library does a lot to encourage learning: book clubs, displays, lectures, and
partnering with businesses and community groups for some of the activities.” 3) Please tell us about a new skill or new information you learned for what you read or experienced?
“My children have been taking turns telling each other long detailed stories for stories they remember hearing.”
“I learned that the library has other things to check out, besides books and movies. We checked out a home water test kit.”
“How and what astronauts eat and all of the ways Flagstaff was part of the Apollo missions.”
STAR WARS PARTY: EFCL hosted an all-ages Star Wars Party in celebration of the
Summer Reading Challenge theme, "A Universe of Stories." Participants made light
sabers, paper crafts, had their faces painted with Star Wars stencil images, played the
VR game "Beat Saber," and were treated to a demonstration and Jedi training by North
Wind Saber, an NAU Club who generously donated their time and talents to the East
Flagstaff Community. 78 adults and children participated.
TUBA CITY LIBRARY: Over 75 kids and 15 adults attended a Summer Reading program
setting a new attendance record in a single day.
TUBA CITY STEM PROGRAM: The library has provided STEM materials for children
during the Summer Reading Program. The
community has responded positively on these
materials and expressed interest in more STEM based
activities.
DISCOVER FLAGSTAFF received two top honors - DMAP Accreditation and Governor’s Tourism Award: City of
Flagstaff’s tourism bureau, DISCOVER FLAGSTAFF, received accreditation “with distinction” from globally recognized
Destinations International through the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) at their annual
convention and also received the 2019 Governor’s Tourism
Award for Outstanding Tourism Partnership – Rural for Flagstaff
Lunar Legacy at the Arizona Governor’s Conference on
Tourism. YAHOO!
I FLG COMMUNITY SCAVENGER HUNT: Staff worked on this event with NAU, DBA, and the County. I HRT FLG hip bags, buttons and more were offered to the 30 plus teams that came out. This is a great community event offered by our four partners.
TOURISM:
LUNAR LEGACY ACTIVITIES: AZ DIAMONDBACKS SPACE DAY: July 20 Flagstaff Lunar Legacy was well-represented with several FREE tactics inside Chase Field:
Looped promotional video on television screens throughout the multi-level concourse;
Pregame or first pitch with USGS Director Justin Hagerty;
Rallybacks pitched Lunar Legacy logo’ d balls into the crowds.
COMMEMORATIVE BOOK IN PRODUCTION: Commemorative book, in collaboration with Flagstaff Festival of Science, is in the process of content creation which includes opening comments by mayor and city manager, timelines, Charlie Duke focus due to his keynote, and messaging supporting Flagstaff’s ongoing scientific and space studies. EARNED MEDIA: Communication Specialist publicized the Flagstaff Lunar Legacy on Fox 10 News morning program with a four minute live phone interview and also provided Flagstaff Lunar Legacy content to several media outlets such as Fox 5 in Las Vegas, Travel Age West in Canada and Sedona Monthly. LODGING METRICS: (From June – note: we always report a month behind)
Occupancy down slightly -0.2%;
Average Daily Rate (ADR) up 2.7%;
Revenue per available room (RevPAR) up 2.5%;
Here are the key metrics for June 2019 with some narrative:
June was a good month for traditional accommodations (and likely to have been a strong month for non-traditional
accommodations) as occupancy was flat at 85% and rate was up to $119.
The team and industry partners procured a massive number of earned media call-outs, mentions, blogs, articles and
video spots around the Lunar Legacy and visitor interest has been high - translating into demand. Additionally, there
has been a strong push for the Festivals and outdoor adventure.
June 2018 2019 Diff YTD
OCC 85% 85% -0.1% -0.2%
ADR $116.85 $119.37 +2.2% +2.7%
RevPAR $99.37 $101.42 +2.1% +2.5%
VISITOR CENTER:
July 2018 2019 Change
Walk-ins 15,225 25,886 70%
Retail Sales $24,011 $35,462 48%
Visitor Survey 94% 94% -
Walk-ins up 70% and retail sales up 48%!!!
Model Train: The model train ran 256 times this month.
Artwalk: Participated First Friday Artwalk hosted musicians, artists, and crafters in the Visitor Center we had 121
walk-ins during the event.
TripAdvisor: The Visitor Center had 7 reviews on TripAdvisor with an average rating on 4.86 out of 5.
Lunar Legacy: 70 Lunar Legacy passports were redeemed; free stickers were given out to honor the anniversary
and many visitors took their picture in the Astronaut throughout the month.
Harry Potter Scavenger Hunt: Participated with DBA in the Harry Potter Scavenger hunt on July 27th the Visitor Center as Platform 9 ¾.
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL TRADE:
MEETINGS/CALLS/ACTIONS: o Brand USA - FY20 campaigns finalized to include Mexico and Canada; o Marketing/Advertising - American Bus Assn (ABA) – Enhanced listing for 2020 publication; Visit USA
France – Full page ad in 2020 Travel Planner; Visit USA UK – Enhanced Listing for 2020 LEADS:
AlliedTPro 2020 Tour Series – 1585 room nights | $156,915 revenue potential; Imperial Travel (IN) Group Dinner for 50 people - June 2020 | $1,500+; Grueninger Tours (IN) – September 2020; Fall Luxury tour – 50/ 60 r/ns | $9,000 revenue.
MEETINGS/EVENTS/CONFERENCES:
MEETING AND EVENT LEADS: Staff sent out 1 lead for a total of 2,075 room nights. The total estimated
economic impact is $560,250.
SOCIETY OF GOVERNMENT MEETING PLANNERS: Meetings Staff hosted the Arizona Chapter of the
Society of Government Meeting Planners (SGMPAZ) for a weekend FAM retreat that showcased Flagstaff as
the premiere four season conference destination to the group. The FAM included visiting our local meeting
facilities for sessions and tours. This gave them a chance to experience a meeting at each conference location.
MARKETING AND MEDIA RELATIONS:
July Highlights: The month of July produced 31 print articles and 735 digital articles.
Lunar Legacy is simply a mic drop, but you all knew that! Big results in July 4th marketing efforts – 242% increase in
sessions on 4th of July -- new strategy included blog and optimizing with Top 10 things to do which had a strong use of
Digital (reach: 1.1m/value: $2.7m). The month of July was an exciting month for Flagstaff with the 50th Anniversary of the first moon landing receiving the vast majority of Flagstaff’s press from print, broadcast and digital channels.
The success of earned media from the Flagstaff Lunar Legacy has been impressive with articles in the LA Times, Arizona Republic, Travel and Leisure plus programs regionally on Fox, KOLD, KJAZZ, KNXV, KPNX and nationally on CSPAN and WJZY (Charlotte).
Digital stories included LAtimes.com, Space.com, azcentral.com and many more. All platforms performed well with the focus mainly on Lunar Legacy.
Below are a few highlights:
Celebrate Arizona’s role in the Apollo moon landing with anniversary-themed food, drinks and souvenirs-
Domestic sessions were up: CA +106%, IL +228%, CO +73%.
International markets saw growth: Canada +72%, Mexico + 31%, UK +115%, and Germany + 270%.
The new responsive site showed a 108% increase in mobile use, 63% in desktop and 62% increase in tablet use.
Most visited pages included 4th of July (242% increase in sessions on 4th of July -- new strategy included blog and SEO with Top 10 things to do, use of relevant key words for search traffic potential), webcam, things-to-do, and Lunar Legacy.
Facebook Engagement was strong on posts involving festivals, Museum Fire focused on Firefighters and earned media
on the Lava Tubes with "14 Cool and unusual Things to do in Flagstaff.”
Twitter removed bots and fake accounts last July (149) so we will start to see better comparisons moving forward.
Youtube performance was very similar to prior year with a slight drop on July video views. 8.2K in 2019, and 15.9K in
2018.
Instagram likes kept growing with likes of 1.1K likes on a 2019 firefighter photo and stories did well in comparison to having no stories last year and the highest likes at 593.
FLAGSTAFF 365: procured new and exciting July giveaways for the Flagstaff 365 Giveaway from the Mead & Cider Festival, Pepsi Amphitheater and the Navajo Festival. FRESH BREWED BLOG: Added The Top Summer Things to Do in Historic Downtown Flagstaff and Discovering Flagstaff: Who knew? ECOTOURISM: Flagstaff Ecotourism site fully transferred from outside adobe platform to under the new Discover Flagstaff site navigation. https://www.flagstaffarizona.org/flg-ecotourism/
CREATIVE SERVICES: ADVERTISING: Produced print ads related to Apollo 11 50th Anniversary, human trafficking, parking validation codes, festivals, dining, and more!
MUSEUM FIRE: Our Economic Vitality Division assisted in many
ways…
Visitor Center: Partnered with the firefighters to have a display on the fire at the Visitor Center to education visitors and worked with attractions to make sure that our visitors knew that they are open for business. Library: Were busy posting fire notifications and updates on the front doors, which provide people access to this information, even after hours. They had multiple positive comments. Airport: Airport had the privilege of hosting our helicopter flight operations for the Museum Fire. They had three Chinooks and a Sky crane stationed here and are always happy to facilitate these operations. Convention and Visitors Bureau (Discover Flagstaff) : The Social media strategy of the CVB (Discover Flagstaff) was to redirect to the most authoritative sources for updates and news. To not cause alarm or delay of travel plans to visitors unless specifically requested and to help our Phoenix and California drive market looking from the outside to receive the most accurate information with the help of our live webcams. Staff put out weekly #onelessspark messaging and shared the most current releases from the forest service and designated authorities.
