Skift Take

All eyes will be on Sedona, Arizona. If it can fund itself and promote tourism without the city's dollars, other destinations could potentially follow its example.

Dawit Habtemariam

The Sedona Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau recently ended its tourism partnership with the City of Sedona because the local government wouldn’t allow it to restart destination marketing. The move came in the wake of a November election that saw a mayor and council member voted out and that was seen as a referendum on resident attitudes toward tourism.

“It got to the point where somebody had to make a bold decision,” said city councilman Peter Furman. "The chamber pulled the trigger first."

The non-renewal of the contract for the next fiscal year represents a broader tale of many places rethinking their spending on tourism promotion. Sedona’s tourism bureau is one of a growing list of entities put under greater pressure from legislators and constituents to redirect funds toward destination management and other community goals. A recent Skift megatrend noted that residents in many parts of the world no longer want to be spectators in tourism.

Tourism Surge, Tourism Slump

Two years ago, the Sedona City Council revised its contract with the tourism bureau, stopping the bureau from spending money on destination marketing.

Before the pause, the tourism bureau spent between $500,000 and $600,000 a year on marketing and advertising per year to attract afflu