Verde Valley Tourism Study First Quarter
(October to December 2014)
The first quarter of the Verde Valley Tourism Study started rather slowly as the various survey sites
learned the survey process and started distributing surveys. All sites provided surveys, with a majority of
sites falling short of meeting their targets. Overall, the quarter total was 9.7 percent short of the goal set
for the entire study area. We anticipate a better response rate as the weather warms up and the tourist
season begins in earnest in the Verde Valley.
Targets
Camp Verde
Clarkdale
Cottonwood
Sedona
Jerome
Quarter Total
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Target
Surveys % Below
109
80
-29
109
37
-72
109
154
45
218
173
-45
109
146
37
654
590
-64
Sedona (72.2%) was the most visited community in the Verde Valley, followed by Jerome
(58.7%), Cottonwood (45.6%), Camp Verde (26.8%) and Clarksdale (22.0%). Visitors were asked
to indicate all the communities they visited or intended to visit, therefore the total does not add
up to 100% because of multiple responses.
The Verde Valley was the primary destination for more than two-thirds of all visitors (68.6%),
while Phoenix (26.0%) and the Grand Canyon (18.2%) were other destinations.
A majority of visitors (55.4%) have visited the Verde Valley previously, an average of 9 times,
while a surprising 44.6 percent are visiting the Verde valley for the first time.
The majority of visitors are on a day trip (52.6%), while almost half (47.4%) are overnight
visitors, staying an average of 5.6 nights (median 4.0 nights).
Of those visitors staying overnight in the Verde Valley, the largest single cohort (42.4%) stay in a
paid lodging (hotel/motel/resort), followed by those staying in a timeshare property (30.1%),
while a further 10.9 percent stay with friends or family. The remainder stay in a campground-RV
Park (6.6%), a bed & Breakfast (5.8%) or a second home (3.0%).
Friend or relatives (45.0%) who presumably have visited Sedona are the primary influencers for
those who visited to the Verde Valley. This is followed by other (35.3%) which unfortunately is
unidentified. Next was the Internet (11.5%), travel agent/tour operator (4.5%),
magazine/newspaper article (2.8%) and magazine/TV ad (0.8%).
The Internet (40.3%) was the single most important resource in planning their visit to the Verde
Valley, followed closely by friends or relatives (30.6%), other (18.4%), travel agent/tour
operator, and guidebook (3.7%) respectively and travel brochure (3.3%).
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Sightseeing (39.1%) was the primary purpose for visiting the Verde Valley, followed by outdoor
recreation (hiking, golf, kayaking, biking etc.), other (14.2%), visiting friends or relatives (10.5%).
Other activities of interest to visitors were shopping (5.2%), wine tasting (4.9%),
spiritual/metaphysical/wellness (3.0%). The remainder of the activities; special events,
cultural/historic, business, casino gaming and birding garnered less than 7 percent of interest.
Visitors to the Verde Valley had a median party size of 2 persons, and spent an average perparty, per-day of $190 for lodging, $107 for restaurant and grocery purchases, $105 on
shopping/souvenirs, $82 on recreation/permit/entry fees, $59 on transportation including gas,
$32 on spa/spiritual/metaphysical expenses, and $204 on other. It is important to note
however, that only 6 percent of all visitors had expenditures in the other category, while 75
percent had expenditures in the smaller per-party expenditure for restaurant and grocery
expenditures.
In terms of general activities in the Verde Valley, dining (61.5%), shopping (55.8%), hiking
(44.6%), visits to art galleries and museums (42.2%) and wineries and tasting rooms (30.5%)
garnered the highest participation amongst all visitors. These activities were followed by visitors
to area creeks and rivers (28.7%) and jeep/off highway vehicle tours (24.4%). Rock climbing
(3.1%) was the least participate in activity.
Visitors to Camp Verde were most likely to visit Montezuma Castle/Well National Monument
(48.2%), followed by out of Africa (41.7%), Cliff Castle Casino and downtown Camp Verde
(19.4%) respectively, and Fort Verde State Park (14.0%) and the Verde valley Archeology Center
(7.2%).
In Clarkdale, visitors were most likely to visit the Verde canyon Railway (55.1%), Tuzigoot
National Monument (42.6%), the Copper Art Museum (22.2%), the Clarkdale Arts &
Entertainment District (11.9%) and Verde River Access points (8.0%).
Visitors to Cottonwood, are most likely to visit historic Old Town Cottonwood (69.8%), the
Blazin’ M Ranch Review (29.8%), Dead Horse Ranch State Park (19.0%), the Old Town Center for
the Arts (17.1%) or hike the Old Jail Trail (5.9%).
Visitors to Jerome were most likely to visit the galleries and shops (69.1%), the historic/ghost
town tours (50.6%), the Jerome State Historic Park (34.0%), wineries/tasting rooms (27.2%), and
musical or special events (7.7%).
Finally, visitors to Sedona are most likely to go to Oak Creek Canyon (57.7%), followed closely by
the Red Rock Scenic Byways (55.9%), uptown Sedona (54.1%), and the Chapel of the Holy Cross
(50.4%). The next sites were visited by less than half of all Sedona visitors. The
Tlaquepaque/Hillside area was visited by 45.4 percent of all visitors, followed the Sedona
Airport Scenic Overlook (38.6%), Sedona Resorts (28.6%), Slide Rock and/or Red Rock State
Parks (28.3%), Red Rock Crossing (24.7%), various vortex sites (24.1%). Palatki and /or Honanki
Heritage sites (11.5%) and the Sedona Heritage Museum (10.2%) received the lowest visitation
in the Sedona area.
Visitors were asked to rate their overall satisfaction with their tourist experience in the Verde
Valley on a 5 point scale where 1 is low and 5 is high. Individually, the highest rating was for the
quality of attractions, which rated 4.6 out of a 5 point scale, followed by the quality of activities
in the Verde Valley, the quality of accommodations and the quality of visitor information, which
scored 4.5 respectively. The next highest score was for the quality f entertainment available in
the Verde Valley which scored 4.2, followed by the quality of shopping, scoring 4.1 on a 5 point
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scale. The cost of goods and services received the lowest overall score, 3.9 out of 5. Overall the
composite score for all the experience categories is 4.3 out of 5.
Visitors from 43 US states (57.5%) provide the majority of visitors in the first quarter, followed
by Arizona visitors (35.6%) and international visitors (6.9%).
The Verde Valley received visitors from 44 of the 50 US states. Arizona (38.2%) provided the
single largest cohort of visitors, followed by California (10.9%), Illinois (5.9%), Texas (3.8%), and
Michigan (3.4%). The top five domestic origins account for 62% of total domestic visitors.
Maricopa County (62.2%) provides the largest number of Arizona visitors to the Verde Valley.
Within Maricopa County, the top five cities of origin for Verde valley visitors are Phoenix
(15.4%), Scottsdale (9.7%), Mesa (7.4%), Glendale (6.3%) and Chandler (4.6%), accounting for
43.4 percent of Maricopa County Visitors.
Canada accounts for 71.4 percent of all international visitors to the Verde Valley, followed by
the United Kingdom (11.4%). These two countries account for 82.8 percent of all international
visitors to the Verde Valley.
The average party size (mean) is 1.5 women and 1.3 men, with the median party size of 1 and 1
respectively. The average number of children under 18 is 1.2 children, however, less than onefourth of all parties (24.9%) are traveling with children.
The average age of visitors to the Verde valley is 51.5 years (median 55.0 years).
A majority of visitors are traveling as family only groups (57.9%), or family and friends (24.2%),
with only 12.4 percent traveling as friends only, and 5.1 percent traveling alone.
The average annual household income of visitors to the Verde valley (from mid-points) is
$81,828. One tenth of visitors in the first quarter had annual household incomes in excess of
$150,000 while a further one-third (35.7%) had annual household incomes of less than $50,000.