Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tourism Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Queen Creek unveils draft tourism strategic plan prioritizing agritainment, careful growth and measurable goals
Summary
Town staff and consultants presented a draft tourism strategic plan that positions Queen Creek as an agritainment destination, recommends establishing the town as the destination marketing organization and sets four strategic goals through 2027. The plan highlights a 30% year‑over‑year increase in visitor spending to roughly $86 million in 2023.
Town staff and consultant Coraggio Group presented a draft tourism strategic plan that recommends branding Queen Creek as an agritainment‑focused destination and establishing measurable objectives and initiatives through 2027.
Economic Development Director Doreen Cott summarized the town’s past year of work to build a tourism program, noting the town’s formal designation as the destination marketing organization, applications for state cooperative grants, partnerships with local agritainment sites and a continuing focus on a modest, targeted approach to tourism. She said a Dean Runyan economic impact analysis showed visitor spending in Queen Creek totaled roughly $86.2 million in 2023, up about 30% from the prior year, and overnight visitors increased to nearly 160,000.
Colleen Floyd of Coraggio Group, the project consultant, described the stakeholder outreach that informed the plan: an online survey, interviews, focus groups and planning sessions with residents, agritourism operators, elected officials and partners. She said stakeholders emphasized preserving Queen Creek’s agricultural and equestrian heritage, protecting the town’s small‑town character and coordinating partnerships and infrastructure to support growth.
The draft plan centers a one‑page strategic framework: a vision to be “the agritainment capital of the world,” a mission to promote the destination for residents and local businesses through marketing and partnerships, and four goals that include establishing the tourism program, crafting a destination identity, encouraging festivals and events and implementing a collective marketing strategy. The plan identifies quarterly and annual metrics and a set of initiatives the town would pursue through 2027.
No formal council action was required; staff said they will present a final plan for council approval at a subsequent meeting after committee review. Council members praised the one‑page format and cited the plan’s potential to support the local economy while protecting community character.
