Arizona tourism officials are thrilled with President Barack Obama’s visit to Phoenix and the Grand Canyon this weekend and not just for the worldwide exposure no advertising budget could buy.
Industry officials say they are particularly pleased with his agenda and the family’s expected luxury accommodations. Obama will deliver a speech to the 12,000 attendees at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Phoenix on Monday and is expected to call the Phoenician home for two nights.
Images of lavish meetings and luxury hotels have raised public ire since bailed-out insurer American International Group held a sales junket at a ritzy Southern California resort last fall. In February, Obama joined the fray when he said bailed-out banks shouldn’t take a trip to Las Vegas or to pro football’s Super Bowl on the taxpayers’ dime.
In the wake of Obama’s comments and the continuing recession, corporate meetings everywhere, including in Phoenix, were canceled, crushing an already-smarting travel business. Las Vegas and some resort cities were seen as being blacklisted.
After much lobbying by the hospitality industry with a “Meetings Mean Business” campaign, including a sit-down with Obama that included leaders such as Bill Marriott, the White House softened its stance and said federal meeting destinations should be selected on cost and quality, not perception.
Industry executives hope trips like Obama’s Phoenix visit will drive the point home even more and get more meetings on the books.
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“To me, it sends a good message that, ‘Hey, it’s OK to spend money on luxury resorts as long as you’re spending it reasonably,’ ” said Andrew Stegen, general manager of the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa.
Phoenix in the summer, for example, is bargain time because of the heat. The Biltmore tried to emphasize that last month when Social Security Administration officials were meeting at the resort, noting that its room rates were under $100 a night.
Steve Moore, chief executive officer of the Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Obama’s attendance at the VFW convention shows the president believes that meetings are important. His speech, after all, will not be broadcast via satellite from Washington, D.C.
“This is someone who’s in possession of the most secure state-of- the-art video-conferencing materials in the world, yet he correctly choose the power of face-to-face meetings,” Moore said.
Moore sees two added bonuses: the spotlight that will shine on the new Phoenix Convention Center, in steamy August no less, as well as the Grand Canyon. Plenty of tourists mistakenly think the Grand Canyon is in Nevada because it is marketed heavily as a side trip from Las Vegas.
Mark Stanton, deputy director of the Arizona Office of Tourism, said Obama’s mix of a mini-vacation and business will showcase the state’s diversity as a destination.
“We appreciate the vote of confidence in the hospitality of the Grand Canyon State,” he said.
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