Dog Story Has Legs – Flagstaff Business News

When USA Today unleashed its findings that Flagstaff is the best city for a dog-friendly vacation, the news took off running. More than 182 publications and media outlets fetched the story, including AZ Central.com, KTLA TV in Los Angeles, KDVR TV in Denver and Flagstaff Business News.

And that’s not all! Travel & Leisure declared that this Arizona town has some of the best stargazing in the United States, an enticing morsel shared by the magazine editor during a live interview on NBC’s TODAY show.

These are just two examples of how top, medium and regional-tiered media are motivating Flagstaff visitation through the efforts of the City of Flagstaff’s award-winning Discover Flagstaff, named Best Social Media and Best Visitor Center by PHOENIX magazine this year.

“Our goal is to create inspiration for a multi-night stay,” said Marketing and Public Relations Manager Lori Pappas last month, in her remarks to a packed banquet room of local businesspeople at the Annual Partner Luncheon Meeting: A Year in Review, Tourism and Economic Vitality, in the High Country Conference Center.

“Our dining scene is hot,” she reported, adding that a Coffee, Tea and Cocoa Trail is in the works and Discover Flagstaff’s social media team is creating content around mocktails, scheduled for release in January.

In addition, page views at DiscoverFlagstaff.com increased 35% in the last year, driven by campaigns and events such as the 30 festivals Flagstaff hosted. “The more we can get people to pause, the more impressions the brand is receiving,” said Pappas, stating that Flagstaff’s breweries “are really making a name for themselves.”

Current campaigns include “Wipe that Smile ON Your Face,” highlighting family fun, “Pledge for the Wild,” encouraging respect for the environment and the global “AZ It Gets” series, including: As Elevated AZ It Gets, promoting high altitude adventure; As Starry AZ It Gets, featuring dark starry skies; and As Grand AZ It Gets, showcasing the Grand Canyon.

Arizona Office of Tourism Director Lisa Urias spoke at the event, stating that Condé Nast Traveler magazine reported astrotourism as the No. 1 travel motivator for 2024. “We are fortunate that our home in the Four Corners Region offers more dark sky places than anywhere in the world. And Arizona is at the forefront, with 20 officially designated Dark Sky parks and communities and many more places offering ideal stargazing conditions.”

Urias also said Lowell Observatory has been at the cutting edge of advancing space science and discovery while making exploring the cosmos accessible to Arizonans and visitors. “The timing couldn’t be better for the tourism industry, as interest in dark skies is on a significant upward trajectory and for the opening of Lowell Observatory’s Astronomy Discovery Center!”

In the beautification, arts and science category, Economic Vitality Director Heidi Hansen reported that the city mounted the first annual multicultural park sculpture exhibition at Elizabeth “Liz” C. Archuleta County Park. In addition, funding from the city supported more than 45 local arts and science nonprofit organizations through grants.

In economic development, Hansen praised the city’s partnership with Moonshot on Innovation Mesa. “There are currently 28 companies on the campus that have created more than 200 jobs, with three companies that graduated from the program and have gone out to find commercial space.”

She also promoted the value and convenience of air travel at Flagstaff Airport. Some 72,337 passengers boarded commercial flights in the last year, and more are expected in fiscal year 2025. Hansen said travel writer and FBN contributor Stacey Wittig is Flagstaff’s most frequent flyer.

“I fly out of Flagstaff every chance I get. As an entrepreneur, I’m into time management, so I love the convenience of not arriving two hours in advance, as I do at enormous airports,” said Wittig, of UnstoppableStaceyTravel. “On my flight out of Flagstaff last week, I walked right up to the American Airlines counter and the TSA checkpoint with no lines!” 

She acknowledges that the airline ticket costs more than flying out of Phoenix or Vegas, but adds that what she saves in parking, gas and shuttle fares makes up for it. “Typically, my husband, Dan, drops me off at the Flagstaff Airport, but when he doesn’t, there’s plenty of affordable parking in the new lot.” See more from Wittig at https://unstoppablestaceytravel.com/closest-airport-to-grand-canyon/.

Meanwhile, Arizona State Representative Justin Wilmeth spoke at the Annual Partner Luncheon Meeting. “I’m here because of Pluto,” he said, of the town where Pluto (not the Disney dog, although he would feel welcome here) was discovered. Earlier this year, Wilmeth successfully sponsored a bipartisan bill to make Pluto Arizona’s official planet. FBN

By Bonnie Stevens, FBN

Photos by Bonnie Stevens: When USA Today announced that Flagstaff is the best city for a dog-friendly vacation, it gave dog owners paws for excitement, proving Flagstaff is truly the
ulti-mutt getaway.