[{"_1":2,"_98":-5,"_99":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,74,86],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":56,"_73":56},"mediaId",6575734,"mediaKeyId","3049657-a4a17c55713677f3b0e09976f187df68","parentId",3049657,"title","Flagstaff attractions attendance down in some venues as marketing team shifts strategy","audioSeconds",616,"startMs",496000,"endMs",1112000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3049657-a4a17c55713677f3b0e09976f187df68&start=496&end=1112","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3049657-a4a17c55713677f3b0e09976f187df68/thumbnail_496000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6575734/Flagstaff-City/Coconino-County/Arizona/Flagstaff-attractions-attendance-down-in-some-venues-as-marketing-team-shifts-strategy","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6575734-903ca21e7a96adebca0ec2cff77d222c/orig.mp4?Expires=1771175196&Signature=nJK3xbVh5W9-ecEpSvYHc8LqGcvBfgzM9UKLW1Lqn7jdJZ0OUKgbdF1DMD8j5Hwc4pNMiAzLJEjGGw~ezOWTwXrnH9prx1y~JCL9safc73fTd1z3pDW~hO03WFdSgnzAosMehh1Xc45euh4EJhru289cZ3-JIh0dzMR0B0vW3BaWvzGGgMfz0QfgIn--70UZvXdukE9zubMj3IBhVieCLW7P8zKEMhUrhoiPzc-I~bIpMPi8SebBUBRevaHuAzfO3ZhOUXLMxPhma-qdboMrumLK27qRmM0v40IC1kVJ5xSPTq4NpGOjyGvSEb3c5YcUndiKM2h8qmKN3pAAevKpDA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-04-18T09:41:47.613Z","article","Lowell Observatory and Discover Flagstaff staff told the commission on Thursday that attendance at ticketed local attractions tracked differently from Grand Canyon visitation this winter, and the tourism marketing team described a mix of strong earned-media hits and softer web engagement tied to low snowpack.

Heather Craig, marketing operations coordinator at Lowell Observatory, presented a revised attractions attendance report she said is now based on monthly ticket counts provided by each venue. Craig reported that, for January and February 2025, combined attendance for the local attractions (excluding the Grand Canyon) fell about 11% in January and 14% in February compared with the same months in 2024. By contrast, Grand Canyon National Park was up roughly 8% in January and 7.2% in February. When Lowell’s data were combined with Grand Canyon counts, Craig said overall visitation rose about 0.67% in January and fell about 1.1% in February.

Commissioners asked how the data are collected and Craig clarified that the numbers are attendance counts from ticketed venues rather than a citywide visitation metric: \"that's only for attractions... they're ticketed places, so they're simply counting the tickets.\" Another participant emphasized that separating Grand Canyon counts helps reveal local trends, because Grand Canyon visitation is much larger and less sensitive to short-term weather.

Discover Flagstaff’s marketing team delivered a February marketing report summarizing earned media, social engagement, email performance and paid advertising. Laurie Pappas, marketing and media relations vice president, called out a successful earned-media push tied to “Love Flagstaff” events that produced strong local TV coverage and social engagement. A collaborative video with Welcome to Arizona drove high reach on TikTok and Instagram; staff said one snow-themed video reached more than 721,000 people on one platform and generated about 1,000 engagements.

At the same time, website engaged sessions were down month over month, though engagement rate rose more than 2%. Staff linked softer site metrics to seasonality and low snowfall and said they are rebalancing paid spend toward drive markets (Phoenix, Albuquerque, Los Angeles, Tucson and Las Vegas) and retargeting creatives. The team said Phoenix accounted for about 65% of hotel market share among target feeder markets and that paid creative with the recent accolade/logo will run across billboards, paid social and programmatic retargeting.

Commissioners and staff discussed whether international market disruption could be influencing engagement and cancellations; staff noted international bookings are often planned months in advance and said they will monitor visa-entry and park visitation data sources to track cross-border trends. The marketing team also previewed updated partner badges and QR-enabled window clings for attractions and said they will share print-ready assets with stakeholders.

The commission received the reports for discussion and follow-up; no action was taken beyond the verbal briefing and sharing of materials.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Flagstaff Tourism Commission Meeting - March 27, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Lowell Observatory and Discover Flagstaff staff told the commission on Thursday that attendance at ticketed local attractions tracked differently from Grand Canyon visitation this winter, and the tourism marketing team described a mix of strong earned-media hits and softer web engagement tied to low snowpack.","taxTitle","Flagstaff City, Coconino County, Arizona","taxId",4650,"location","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":75,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":76,"_41":77,"_43":78,"_45":79,"_47":80,"_49":81,"_51":82,"_53":83,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":84,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":85,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":56,"_73":56},6575738,"NAU study finds mixed economic effects from Flagstaff's higher minimum wage",2769,920000,3689000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3049657-a4a17c55713677f3b0e09976f187df68&start=920&end=3689","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3049657-a4a17c55713677f3b0e09976f187df68/thumbnail_920000.jpg","/articles/6575738/Flagstaff-City/Coconino-County/Arizona/NAU-study-finds-mixed-economic-effects-from-Flagstaffs-higher-minimum-wage","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6575738-54c9e3e7a61f0b8a3e5dc92ea07337c2/orig.mp4?Expires=1771175196&Signature=LJEGo5H8m2T0STiEtXQdHnh4B85IQcszSX9W063Rx8gKVe7da3igsX8HFzloLunjc5WyuPPWemK1hwjT8mcKRiDuDbrLKi-pm~EXviaPMvza4DeSO4SD2qb-iU7BKR4tjOEhpcWxsUr1wSXyFoE8RYiNeW8jZiyCvPu93aaKMsUSGOCCZkUEegfIFnFdY-c31OiyD1mOVioz2xvfxvcUpeMsi8K1YmlfMWT6D89cvv91VhmgCqSyxuVQOOrfhaI-I-ISUPM8Y1cwtwpuSG3dkn0gqFaP1Uk52bEd6ujay9WHm1r36fU5xDCAygNglRJzlyKe1wkUxHymBKCTt5Xcww__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Northern Arizona University researchers told the Coconino County Workforce Development Board on Thursday that the city’s higher minimum wage has produced mixed results for employment, wages and local industry structure.

The Economic Policy Institute researchers — Nancy Baca, associate teaching professor of economics at the W. A. Franke College of Business and director of NAU’s Economic Policy Institute; Melissa Jerrinson, research associate; and Fei Fei Zhang, research associate — said they combined a quantitative difference-in-differences model with focus groups and interviews to evaluate Flagstaff’s minimum-wage policy, implemented in 2017.

The study compared Flagstaff’s outcomes to a constructed “synthetic” metropolitan statistical area (MSA) made from weighted parts of other MSAs to estimate what would have happened without the local wage floor. The researchers warned of limitations, including the pandemic’s disturbance of trends and a smaller qualitative sample than planned.

On the quantitative side, the team reported that, compared with the synthetic control, Flagstaff had about 1,800 fewer manufacturing jobs and about 1,600 fewer construction jobs over the study period. Aggregating across sectors, the model estimated roughly 4,000 fewer jobs than the synthetic scenario would have shown. At the same time, the model showed higher total wages in some sectors: hospitality total wages were about $38,000,000 higher than the synthetic counterfactual, and the researchers reported an average per-worker wage increase of about $12.50 per year across occupations compared with the synthetic control. The team noted and corrected a slide labeling error: several figures on the slides were presented with mistaken million-dollar units and actually reflected dollar amounts.

Nancy Baca said the research design \"used a difference in difference economic model\" and acknowledged caveats: \"there's a big noise in the analysis\" because of COVID and data limitations. Fei Fei Zhang, explaining the synthetic-control approach, noted the method creates a weighted composite of other MSAs so the pre-2017 trends match Flagstaff before comparing post‑2017 divergence.

The qualitative findings, drawn from three focus groups with 22 business owners or managers and 16 worker interviews, painted a more textured picture. Business respondents cited rising payroll costs, job consolidation, reluctance to hire less-experienced workers, higher turnover and difficulty retaining management-level staff. Workers described reliable annual raises and reduced hours for some, but also concerns that pay still does not keep pace with Flagstaff’s cost of living.

Melissa Jerrinson summarized the mixed results and the added value of qualitative work: the macro model shows aggregated gains and losses across industries, while the interviews revealed how effects vary by firm size, sector and worker experience. The presenters and board members discussed the study’s use for workforce programming rather than as a direct policy lever, with board staff noting that workforce development tools such as on‑the‑job training, apprenticeships and internships can help mitigate negative business impacts.

Board members and staff asked about study timing, the construction of the synthetic MSA and sample size for the qualitative work. Regina Salas of the Coconino County Workforce Development Board introduced the researchers and said the results would inform future board programming and priorities.

The researchers recommended the study as a foundation for targeted follow-up, including deeper industry-specific work and additional qualitative outreach, and flagged housing costs, a tight labor market and projected population slowdown as key structural constraints for local employers and workers.

The full report and presentation slides were posted to the board’s project materials; the presenters said they could revisit the analysis in one to three years to expand sample sizes and focus on tourism and hospitality specifically.","A Northern Arizona University Economic Policy Institute study presented to the Coconino County Workforce Development Board found mixed impacts from Flagstaff's 2017 minimum-wage increase: some industries and wages rose, while modeled job counts in construction and manufacturing were lower than a synthetic control would have predicted.",{"_33":87,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":88,"_41":89,"_43":90,"_45":91,"_47":92,"_49":93,"_51":94,"_53":95,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":96,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":97,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":56,"_73":56},6575727,"Local workforce board seeks employers, youth for 6-week paid summer internships funded by WIOA",693,175000,868000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3049657-a4a17c55713677f3b0e09976f187df68&start=175&end=868","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3049657-a4a17c55713677f3b0e09976f187df68/thumbnail_175000.jpg","/articles/6575727/Flagstaff-City/Coconino-County/Arizona/Local-workforce-board-seeks-employers-youth-for-6-week-paid-summer-internships-funded-by-WIOA","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6575727-e8e38281ea2812c671c3738b79d0717a/orig.mp4?Expires=1771175196&Signature=HXKLLB341e801k1IEOROWKB8vCv~RFPVe~pVcUylimVb7SEYuGe8E~bgrANivmy3Up4ILVnZR6J~A-2V8REu4pz8WSz8GT7s~I364iLzqwHdu9tjKovlqIOkbMc7YHxgREvRkKMk1oqViBJ2ZaLKEcq7EfxQ4CUm5veAbMlOVfVfJEH35PNQtzWlyZbJcU0BvBcna3JJlRMEfW0M8gxyUiHF67SmCF2AsBluky6OBntRJyDOgs98q~zxV7A0NBGLCzWIDnf-JHA7x8pQuD40qIcu1-F1WWzqJpMZ9I3A9gNtUgeaRdpPqLJbyBfdytt4UwstPXWHfXLMMVJ5CrM9zg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Coconino County workforce staff told the commission they are recruiting businesses and young adults for a six-week, paid summer internship program supported by Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funds.

A staff presenter said the program targets young people ages 16 to 24 and that wages for participating interns will be paid through WIOA. The program aims to offer experiential learning and career exposure in customer service and hospitality, STEM and IT, public service and governance, health services and local nonprofits. Staff said recruiting of employers and youth begins immediately and internships start in May.

Staff offered to share recruitment materials via email and asked commissioners to help spread the word to potential employer partners and interested young adults. No formal vote or action was taken on the item.","Coconino County workforce staff said they are recruiting employers and young adults, age 16–24, for a six-week paid internship program beginning in May; wages will be covered by WIOA funds and staff are seeking employers in customer service, hospitality, STEM/IT, public service, health services and nonprofits.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Flagstaff attractions attendance down in some venues as marketing team shifts strategy

NAU study finds mixed economic effects from Flagstaff's higher minimum wage

Local workforce board seeks employers, youth for 6-week paid summer internships funded by WIOA