Meg Rotor, global sales manager for Discover Flagstaff, told the tourism commission that a sustained international outreach program—IPW appointments, BrandUSA campaigns and familiarization (FAM) tours—has generated measurable bookings and midyear leads.

"We will do a double booth…IPW is our largest travel trade show," Rotor said, describing outreach in Australia, Germany and through BrandUSA campaigns. She reported a midyear total of about 4,200 room nights from partner agents met at trade events and said certain receptive tour operator partners produced 1,628 bookings midyear. "We are making a difference when we go to these travel trade conferences," Rotor said.

Why it matters: staff tied marketing investments to booking metrics and to long‑term relationships with international tour operators. Commissioners heard that BrandUSA digital campaigns exceeded expected impressions (one campaign delivered more than 13 million impressions, well above the planned 4 million) and that an optimized Australia campaign also outperformed benchmarks and produced direct Expedia booking activity during the campaign period.

Details: Rotor summarized several programs: a BrandUSA Global Inspirations program and a BrandUSA optimized Australia campaign produced higher‑than‑expected impressions and click rates; a German operator FAM and other hosted journalists produced positive trade feedback; and partner tracking showed approximately 5,000 reported booking nights in fiscal year 2025 across tracked agents. She gave one concrete short‑term metric: "There were 36 Expedia room nights booked during that period of the campaign." Commissioners and staff said that converting impressions to bookings is an ongoing priority.

Context and constraints: Rotor and other staff noted international travel remains below pre‑pandemic levels in some markets and that visa‑fee and program changes are being monitored; Rotor said a proposed increase in visa fees was "delayed" as of her morning meeting. Commissioners discussed whether the tourism commission should elevate the issue to city leadership and possibly pursue a formal advocacy item.

Ending: Staff said tracking and reporting on conversions will continue; commissioners asked staff to place further discussions of international advocacy and legislative priorities on a future tourism commission agenda.