ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY News Release

May 4, 2010

Graduating ASU Seniors – Helping Maricopa Use “Tourism for the Public Good”

PHOENIX – An exciting partnership between ASU and the City of Maricopa is helping the City investigate ways to better their community by harnessing the power of tourism. Tourism is the largest industry in the World and this spring an ASU class in Tourism Development and Management has been researching the opportunities for its growth using the resources of the city of Maricopa.

Under the guidance of Professor Tim Tyrrell, the ASU class of 55 juniors and graduating seniors studied Maricopa as a case study in a tourism research methods course. The project looked at how eight different resources of the City could provide opportunities for future tourism development.

The findings of the research teams were presented to Mayor Smith, Vice Mayor Murphree and five members of the Maricopa Chamber of Commerce on May 4. Opportunities for the City identified by the students included serving current Maricopa residents and business travelers better, anticipating imminent growth in transportation systems, and forming stronger collaborations with the Ak-Chin community.

Terri Kingery, (Executive Director, Maricopa Chamber of Commerce) said of the project:

“The partnership developed with ASU during the development of this Tourism Project, will be instrumental in our Communities success in developing and promoting tourism in Maricopa which has become a key component in our City’s Economic Development strategy.”

Mayor Tony Smith of Maricopa said “Tourism and higher education are critical elements to be developed in the City of Maricopa.  By partnering with the Chamber of Commerce and ASU, we will accelerate our progress towards identifying the assets that promote Maricopa’s proud history and vision for a prosperous future.”

ASU Presentation

Power Point Presentation

The project was the first step in the tourism planning process and is expected to continue in the fall by another class in the School of Community Resources and Development under the guidance of Professor Rhonda Phillips.

The Maricopa Chamber of Commerce and Maricopa Town Council were the primary sponsors of the project. ASU sponsors included the College of Public Program (designer Felipe Ruiz) and the Megapolitan Tourism Research Center (which Dr. Tyrrell is the director).  A PowerPoint show and downloadable pdf report are available at http://MTRC.asu.edu/Presentations .

The Megapolitan Tourism Research Center is devoted to studying the role of tourism in community development in order to strengthen its contribution to viable economic, social and environmental systems, especially in megapolitan regions around the world. The center is part of the School of Community Resources & Development, located in the College of Public Programs at the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus. For information, visit: http://mtrc.asu.edu/portal.

Photos on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/43854577@N06/sets/72157623993752476/show/with/4579181571/

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SOURCE:

Tim Tyrrell
Professor, School of Community Resources and Development
Director, Megapolitan Tourism Research Center

602-496-0156
timt@asu.edu

MEDIA CONTACT:

Carey Ballard

Assistant Director, Student and Academic Affairs, ASU College of Public Programs

Carey.ballard@asu.edu, 602-496-0411