The Impact of Arizona Highways Magazine on Tourism Final Report 686 March 2012 Arizona Department of Transportation Research Center The Impact of Arizona Highways Magazine on Tourism Final Report 686 March 2012 Prepared by: Kathleen L. Andereck, Ph.D. School of Community Resources and Development Arizona State University 411 N. Central Avenue, Suite 550 Phoenix, AZ 85004 Prepared for: Arizona Department of Transportation 206 S. 17th Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85007 in cooperation with U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration The contents of the report reflect the views of the author who is responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the Arizona Department of Transportation or the Federal Highway Administration. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. Trade or manufacturers’ names which may appear herein are cited only because they are considered essential to the objectives of the report. The U.S. Government and the State of Arizona do not endorse products or manufacturers. Front cover photos courtesy of Arizona Highways Magazine. Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. FHWA-AZ-12-686-1 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date March 2012 The Impact of Arizona Highways Magazine on Tourism 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Authors 8. Performing Organization Report No. Kathleen L. Andereck, Ph.D. 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. School of Community Resources and Development, Arizona State University, 411. N. Central Ave., Ste. 550, Phoenix, AZ 85004 11. Contract or Grant No. SPR-PL 1 (175) 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13.Type of Report & Period Covered ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 206 S. 17TH AVE. Final Report PHOENIX, AZ 85007 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Project Manager: Dianne Kresich 15. Supplementary Notes Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration 16. Abstract The purpose of this study was to: 1) examine the effect of Arizona Highways Magazine (AHM) on tourism, 2) determine trip characteristics of AHM subscribers traveling in Arizona, and 3) calculate a benefit/cost ratio for AHM based on the magazine’s cost and revenues as well as the value-added economic impact. Findings suggest that: AHM subscribers are demographically similar to other people with an interest in Arizona as a travel destination with the exception of age and related variables: AHM subscribers are older. A very high percentage of AHM subscribers have taken trips in Arizona over the past five years, with many visiting multiple times. Most out-of-state subscribers stay for one to two weeks when they visit, most often traveling with a spouse or partner. Subscribers use AHM fairly extensively as a source of travel information. About 29 percent of out-of-state subscribers who visited in the past five years indicated that AHM influenced them to visit Arizona on their most recent trip. In addition to its influence on visitors’ decision to select Arizona as a destination, the magazine especially influenced decisions related to specific destinations or attractions and choices regarding travel routes. Subscribers have spent an average of over $195.2 million on travel annually over the past five years, and $41.5 million of those expenditures can be directly attributed to AHM and its influence on the travel behavior of out-of-state subscribers. This amounts to a benefit/cost ratio 7.8 to 1 at the very least. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement 23. Registrant’s Seal Arizona Highways Magazine, tourism, travel, expenditures Document is available to the U.S. public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161 19. Security Classification 20. Security Classification 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 94 SI* (MODERN METRIC) CONVERSION FACTORS APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol LENGTH in inches 25.4 millimeters mm ft feet 0.305 meters m yd yards 0.914 meters m mi miles 1.61 kilometers km AREA in2 square inches 645.2 square millimeters mm2 ft2 square feet 0.093 square meters m2 yd2 square yard 0.836 square meters m2 ac acres 0.405 hectares ha mi2 square miles 2.59 square kilometers km2 VOLUME fl oz fluid ounces 29.57 milliliters mL gal gallons 3.785 liters L ft3 cubic feet 0.028 cubic meters m3 yd3 cubic yards 0.765 cubic meters m3 NOTE: volumes greater than 1000 L shall be shown in m3 MASS oz ounces 28.35 grams g lb pounds 0.454 kilograms kg T short tons (2000 lb) 0.907 megagrams (or "metric ton") Mg (or "t") TEMPERATURE (exact degrees) oF Fahrenheit 5 (F-32)/9 Celsius oC or (F-32)/1.8 ILLUMINATION fc foot-candles 10.76 lux lx fl foot-Lamberts 3.426 candela/m2 cd/m2 FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS lbf poundforce 4.45 newtons N lbf/in2 poundforce per square inch 6.89 kilopascals kPa APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM SI UNITS Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol LENGTH mm millimeters 0.039 inches in m meters 3.28 feet ft m meters 1.09 yards yd km kilometers 0.621 miles mi AREA mm2 square millimeters 0.0016 square inches in2 m2 square meters 10.764 square feet ft2 m2 square meters 1.195 square yards yd2 ha hectares 2.47 acres ac km2 square kilometers 0.386 square miles mi2 VOLUME mL milliliters 0.034 fluid ounces fl oz L liters 0.264 gallons gal m3 cubic meters 35.314 cubic feet ft3 m3 cubic meters 1.307 cubic yards yd3 MASS g grams 0.035 ounces oz kg kilograms 2.202 pounds lb Mg (or "t") megagrams (or "metric ton") 1.103 short tons (2000 lb) T TEMPERATURE (exact degrees) oC Celsius 1.8C+32 Fahrenheit oF ILLUMINATION lx lux 0.0929 foot-candles fc cd/m2 candela/m2 0.2919 foot-Lamberts fl FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS N newtons 0.225 poundforce lbf kPa kilopascals 0.145 poundforce per square inch lbf/in2 *SI is the symbol for the International System of Units. Appropriate rounding should be made to comply with Section 4 of ASTM E380. (Revised March 2003) TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................... 2 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................... 2 STUDY METHODS............................................................................................................. 2 II. LITERATURE REVIEW AND SECONDARY DATA ............................................... 4 THE INFLUENCE OF TRAVEL-RELATED INFORMATION ON TOURISTS ............................... 4 Consumer Use of Information .................................................................................... 4 The Search Process ..................................................................................................... 5 Information Sources.................................................................................................... 7 Market Differences ................................................................................................... 11 Information, Visitation, and Expenditures................................................................ 13 ARIZONA TOURISM AND INFORMATION SOURCES.......................................................... 15 Arizona Studies......................................................................................................... 15 III. SURVEY RESULTS .................................................................................................. 22 NATURE OF THE SAMPLE – DEMOGRAPHICS .................................................................. 22 VISITATION TO AND IN ARIZONA.................................................................................... 24 TRAVEL PLANNING ........................................................................................................ 25 ARIZONA TRIP CHARACTERISTICS ................................................................................. 32 INFLUENCE OF AHM ON ARIZONA TRAVEL..................................................................... 37 Overnight Visits........................................................................................................ 38 Day Visits by In-state Subscribers............................................................................ 42 Influence of AHM Products ...................................................................................... 44 COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF AHM................................................................................ 46 AHM Costs vs. Revenue ........................................................................................... 46 Direct Economic Impact of All Subscribers ............................................................. 44 IV. CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................ 49 APPENDIX – OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES .................................................................. 58 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Response Rates.................................................................................................................................. 3 Table 2 Top Visitor Activities and Attractions While Visiting Arizona. ..................................................... 16 Table 3 Purpose of Trip................................................................................................................................ 17 Table 4 Information