White Mountain Partnership Promotes Tourism In Area

By Naomi Hatch
   “(Snowflake Town Manager) Paul Watson is a valiant leader of our organization this year,” said White Mountain Partnership Executive Director Julia Patrick during her report to the Snowflake Town Council April 14.
   Patrick explained that the White Mountain Partnership is a regional consortium of communities throughout the area that work to engage tourists and promote the area as a tourism destination. The partnership has a budget of $130,000, with Snowflake’s contribution set at $7,000. Other members are Show Low, Pinetop, Navajo County, St. Johns, the White Mountain Apache Tribe and Taylor.
   “Leadership comes to the table and represents the community to discuss the different tourism opportunities that we have,” said Patrick. “Each of our communities are extremely different, but provide the tourism base a wonderful opportunity to experience Arizona like no other part of the state.”
   Last year they added up all the media attention received and felt they drew publicity valued at $1.3 million from the New York Times, The Arizona Republic, the Tucson Daily Star and several magazines. She said that they have conducted FAM (familiarization) tours, including a group of German media representatives, as well as other European tourists who toured the White Mountains, including Snowflake. Patrick said that one of the highlights of the tour was the bus ride with Dean Porter, who drove them to the different sites and fed them. She noted that they will be bringing the leadership from Arizona Office of Tourism up this summer, because the partnership wants them to understand what there is to offer in our communities, and they have specifically requested some time in the historic buildings.
   Patrick also noted that last year Snowflake-Taylor Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Greg Hudson did a fabulous job of giving everyone an idea of life in pioneer times.
   The partnership also hopes to organize day trips that will keep tourists in the area longer. “Engaging tourism throughout the year is one of our goals,” Patrick explained.
   “We have a wonderful Web site (www.azwhitemountains.net) that serves as a portal to our region,” she said, noting that it gives directions and a local flavor of all the participating communities.
   “We also want to build community spirit throughout the White Mountains,” said Patrick.
   Vice Mayor Kerry Ballard asked if the area’s tourism is being hurt by the economic downturn, and Patrick responded that she believes the economic change is actually working to our advantage. She said a new term is “staycation,” adding that she believes we have the opportunity to attract people escaping the heat, particularly during the summer. She said she feels that the towns can offer an environment where people can be away from home in a short three-hour drive and yet have a radically different environment and experience.