Students present their perspectives on tourism in Bisbee

Sixty Tourism Development and Management students in the School of Community Resources and Development presented their final report “Perspectives on Tourism in Bisbee, Arizona” to an online audience via Adobe Connect on the last day of fall classes. 

The presentation featured student speakers Karla Scott, Ryan Gaynor and Isabella Hansen-Purnell and described a semester-long study of the mining tourism community of Bisbee in Cochise County. Participants from Bisbee chatted questions and comments while other students responded in real time.

The report described an analysis of strengths and weaknesses of tourism in Bisbee and an attempt to strategically match these against competitive forces to meet long-term goals of key community stakeholders.

The project, co-sponsored by the City of Bisbee and Cochise County, was designed to contribute to an on-going community planning process and stimulate discussion and further research about the future of this unique city that is famous for the historical Copper Queen Mine but is also home to the oldest baseball field in the United States, Warren Field, and Arizona’s oldest continuously operated golf course, Turquoise Valley. By the early 1900’s, Bisbee was the largest city between St. Louis and San Francisco and one of the most cultured cities in the Southwest.

This is the fourth report in the series of tourism development studies but the first to be presented simultaneously in the classroom and to an online audience.

“The City of Bisbee has found that collaborating with Arizona State University to be a highly positive experience. The student’s enthusiasm and insights are beneficial in confirming our current marketing strategy and for providing a blueprint in moving forward with the promotion of Bisbee as both a tourist destination and a community to call home,” says John Charley, community development director of Bisbee.