The Grand Canyon Chamber and Visitors Bureau’s focus seems to have drifted and now the Town of Tusayan is considering handling much of its own marketing.

For months the Chamber has been engaged in a broad marketing strategy that includes Valle, Williams, and Flagstaff, in addition to the Grand Canyon and Tusayan.

The problem is the Town of Tusayan provides funding to the Chamber and the Town funds are required to promote local tourism not other cities and towns.

In addition, Tusayan has had difficulty in obtaining financial reports from the Chamber. After months of making such requests, the Town finally received a stack of documents which was handed to the Council at the October 10th Council meeting.

At that same meeting the Town was considering a resolution that would allow the Town to make its own marketing arrangements, establishing the Tusayan as its own Designated Marketing Organization (DMO) with the Arizona Office of Tourism. 

When pressed as to why the Chamber failed to submit a P&L (profit and loss statement) in the past, Chamber President Stoney Ward told the council he did not know what a P&L was.

Nearly all other organizations that use Town funds routinely submit records with some making detailed presentations.  That has not been the case with the Chamber.

Numerous marketing materials that extolled Valle, Williams, and Flagstaff rather than Tusayan and the Grand Canyon raised concerns among the Council about how the Chamber was spending Tusayan Town funds, leading to Ward confronting the Town Council and lecturing members that creating a separate DMO was a “bad plan.”  Many on-line materials have been hastily changed lately to focus more on the Grand Canyon and Tusayan. But it may be too little too late.

Having Tusayan listed as its own Designating Marketing Organization (DMO) doesn’t cost the Chamber any immediate funding. But it does give the Town access to marketing resources and vendors so it can chart its own course and create its own messaging. It would prevent Tusayan funds from promoting cities such as Williams. It would give the Town financial oversight. Ward left the meeting before the Council voted on the issue. Ultimately the Town Council decided to review Ward’s documents before making a final decision.