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Sky High events, holiday bazaar drew thousands; planning staff present cell-phone analytics to quantify impact
Summary
City staff reported that the holiday bazaar and co-located events generated a large increase in downtown foot traffic and vendor participation; planning staff used a location-analytics platform to quantify unique visitors and dwell time.
Planning and events staff reported that Monte Vista’s holiday bazaar and related weekend activities produced a substantial increase in downtown visitors and vendor participation, based on data from a location-analytics platform the city uses in partnership with the Rio Grande County Tourism Board.
DJ (staff member) and Stephanie (Sky High staff) presented attendance and booking figures. Stephanie said Sky High had about 60 events in November and expects about 49 by the end of December; she reported 523 events for 2024 and 241 already booked for 2025. DJ presented cell-phone analytics (platform identified in the meeting as "Place for AI") that recorded unique devices and hourly averages in the commercial downtown district.
DJ said the downtown typically averages 588 cell phones per hour on weekends, with about 2,000 unique devices staying more than 10 minutes during an average weekend. For the Dec. 1 weekend tied to the holiday bazaar, DJ reported an average of 1,262 devices per hour between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. and 8,100 unique visits over the weekend. He said peak counts averaged about 3,400 devices on-site between 5 and 7 p.m. DJ said vendor participation increased from 35 vendors in 2021 to a sold-out cap (125) in 2024.
Planning staff cautioned the metrics measure device presence and dwell time and do not directly prove dollars spent, but DJ reported that about 45% of event visitors either went to a home or to a restaurant in Monte Vista after events in a past year sample; Safeway and local restaurants were identified among frequent destinations. Staff said the holiday bazaar was the second-largest downtown event by attendance in recent years, behind only the stampede.
Councilors and staff discussed the platform’s data collection and how the city might use repeat analytics to plan future events and measure economic impact. No formal action was taken; planning staff offered to provide additional reports on the city’s five largest events and seasonal trends.
