Tucson Launches Marketing Campaign to Attract Hispanic and Spanish-Speaking Travelers

Visit Tucson has launched a new online marketing campaign designed to attract Hispanic and Spanish-speaking travelers in the United States, making them feel welcome in Tucson, Arizona and encouraging them to explore the city’s culture, heritage, and multiculturalism.

Kicked off in March, the campaign includes a dedicated website, as well as messaging via social media, advertising, and search engine marketing. There are also visuals and stories in Spanish designed to highlight Tucson’s vibrant culture, heritage, and traditions.

It’s been merely a few weeks since the dynamic new marketing effort has been in place, and already it’s a runaway success.

Over the first three weeks, there’s been more than 1.2 million ad impressions and 13,771 ad clicks. Traffic to the dedicated website “Vamos a Tucson” has also soared more than 500 percent.

While Tucson has long had a rich Hispanic culture, up until now the destination has typically focused its multicultural marketing efforts across the border—in Mexico. This new campaign marks the first time that Visit Tucson has targeted the Hispanic and Spanish-speaking population in the United States.

“The overall goal of this campaign is to engage and connect with the Spanish-speaking or Hispanic market in the U.S. and let them know that Tucson is ready to welcome them and embrace them with open arms, in their language, and in their culture,” Marisol Vindiola, senior director of multicultural marketing for Visit Tucson, told TravelPulse.

Created with the assistance of the digital marketing agency Orange142, the campaign relies heavily on stories and images of local people, music, and places to highlight Tucson’s vibrant culture and heritage. In addition, messaging was thoughtfully and deliberately created to exemplify the diversity of the Tucson region.

All of which is meant to convey some very important messages to the target demographic

“This Spanish-speaking market will be able to see themselves here, they’ll feel open to speak English, Spanish, or Spanglish,” says Vindiola.

Beyond seeing themselves in the destination and ensuring they feel welcome, the campaign seeks to illustrate for Hispanic and Spanish-speaking travelers all that Tucson has to offer. This includes gastronomy, festivals, and experiences that embrace the Hispanic culture, added Vindiola.

“Tucson is a place where they can be proud of their heritage and be part of something that makes them feel special,” explains Vindiola. “The goal is to create a connection with the Hispanic market and make them feel like they belong and that traveling to this destination is the right choice.”

All of which makes good business sense. The Hispanic market is the largest minority group in the United States and one that travels more frequently than non-Hispanics. Hispanic and Spanish-speaking travelers also spend more money in-market, according to Visit Tucson.

“With a Spanish language dedicated website, Vamos a Tucson, and the local tourism industry working together to service this group, Tucson is in a viable position to grow market share among Hispanics.” said Scott Schult, head of strategy at Orange142.

The current awareness campaign is slated to run until April 30. But that will not mark the end of the destination’s efforts to reach U.S.-based Hispanic and Spanish-speaking travelers.

There’s already a summer campaign in the works that will target the same audience in a variety of markets. The long-term goal is to continue deploying campaigns aimed at the Spanish-speaking market in this country.

“Visit Tucson will continue to create and implement initiatives that are designed to make our destination a welcoming and inclusive destination for all our visitors, regardless of their language, culture, or background,” said Vindiola. “We will continue to work with our stakeholders and partners to create engaging and culturally relevant experiences that will make our city a multicultural destination of choice for the Hispanic market.”