Tourists spent more than $2 billion in Scottsdale in 2018, report finds

PHOENIX – Tourists spent around 30% more in Scottsdale in 2018 than they did a year earlier, according to an annual report released last week.

Visitors spent an estimated $2.1 billion in the city last year, up from $1.6 billion in 2017, according to the Scottsdale Tourism and Events Department’s annual visitor statistics report.

The report counted Scottsdale’s international tourists for the first time, estimating that 1.7 million overnight visitors came from other countries.

“It’s a very important group of travelers to consider. Data shows us international travelers typically stay longer based on where they traveled from and tend to spend more,” Karen Churchard, Tourism and Events director, said in a press release.

“We’ve now created a baseline in this report that will give us the resources to track those trends and have that valuable data available.”

The city also welcomed 4.6 million domestic overnight visitors and 4.5 million domestic day tourists.

Domestic overnight visitors spent an average of $290 a day in the city, more than 40% of it on lodging.

What’s luring people to Scottsdale? Here are the top 10 reported activities, in order of popularity: Shopping, upscale dining, night clubs, historic sites/landmarks, swimming, state parks, museums, casinos, hiking and golf.

Tourism generated an estimated $59.6 million in sales and bed taxes in 2018, 26% of the city’s total, according to the report.

According to Arizona Office of Tourism research released earlier this year, the state welcomed 45.4 million overnight travelers in 2018, generating more than $1 billion in state taxes for the first time.

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