When it comes to luring convention- and conference-goers this winter, Arizona’s resort towns may be too much fun for their own good.
Tourism officials say business groups have been avoiding popular destinations from Hawaii to Florida out of fear that it will look as if they’re having too good of a time amid a recession.
As a result, they are making the economic downturn worse for the already battered travel industry in cities such as Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tucson, Reno, Las Vegas, Orlando and Palm Springs, Calif.
More than 80 business meetings have been canceled in the past year in Phoenix alone, resulting in more than $23 million in lost revenue, said Douglas MacKenzie, spokesman for the Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau.
In Scottsdale, hotel bookings for business meetings are down 25 percent to 30 percent from last year, said Brent DeRaad, executive vice president of the Scottsdale Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Resort cities are mounting campaigns to lure companies back.
Scottsdale recently began a new “room-rate challenge” program that asks business-meeting planners throughout the nation to send their conference proposals from other cities to give Scottsdale a chance to meet or beat the price.
So far, the program has helped book four business meetings ranging in size from 25 to 360 participants, DeRaad said.
