2025 Arizona Governor’s Conference On Tourism

DATES: July 16-18, 2025

The Arizona Governor’s Conference on Tourism (GCOT) is the premier educational and information-sharing event in the state for travel professionals and destination marketers. GCOT provides its attendees the opportunity to exchange ideas with peers, learn from expert panelists, draw inspiration from nationally renowned speakers, and discover cutting-edge products and services.

Questions? Please contact us at (602) 542-0065 or info@azgcot.com

Registration

Full Conference Registration: $500
We look forward to another productive year full of educational sessions, great networking opportunities and the chance to collaborate with partners across Arizona.

Events & Activities

Governor’s Tourism Awards Celebration

The Governor’s Tourism Awards Celebration is where we recognize the outstanding marketers, innovators and ambassadors of the Arizona tourism industry. This sit-down dinner affair is a wonderful celebration of our industry and a great opportunity to network with fellow attendees, sponsors and exhibitors. We look forward to recognizing excellence in Arizona’s travel and tourism industry during this special evening event.

We invite you to nominate yourself, your organization, or someone you admire within the tourism industry for the Governor’s Tourism Awards, with categories including innovative marketing campaigns, cooperative partnerships, exceptional customer service and more.

Please review the guidelines and deadlines as outlined below carefully before making your final submission. Winners will be announced at the Governor’s Tourism Awards Celebration Dinner on July 17, 2025.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Krista Mott-Fulton at kmott-fulton@tourism.az.gov.

Accommodations

The JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa will be hosting the Governor’s Conference on Tourism.
Please use the button below to reserve your room.

RESERVE NOW

2025 Conference Schedule

Please check back as more details are finalized

Wednesday, July 16

12:00 – 5:00 p.m. – Registration/Information Desk Open

4:00 – 6:00 p.m. – Welcome Reception — Arizona Ballroom

Thursday, July 17

7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. – Registration/Information Desk Open

8:00 – 8:30 a.m. – General Session: Arizona Office of Tourism State of the Industry Update — Paradise Ballroom

8:30 – 9:00 a.m. – General Session: Zeek Coleman, Vice President, Americas at Tourism Economics — Paradise Ballroom

9:00 – 10:30 a.m. – General Session: Trever Cartwright, Founding Principal, Coraggio Group –– Paradise Ballroom –– Join is for an engaging and collaborative work session that marks the official launch of Arizona’s statewide tourism industry strategic planning process–an initiative designed by the industry, for the industry. Participants in the general session will gain insight into the planning framework, including the powerful Collective Impact model, and explore how their voices will directly shape the future of Arizona’s tourism. Through dynamic small-group exercises, attendees will discuss and help define the focus of the strategic plan. This is your opportunity to influence important strategic decisions, ensure local perspectives are heard and walk away with a true sense of authorship in the future of our industry.

10:30-11:00 a.m. – Morning Break — Arizona Ballroom

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Concurrent Breakout Sessions
- International Perspectives: Positioning U.S. Travel Stories in Today’s Economic and Geo-Political Climate — AOT’s international media reps will explore how travelers worldwide experience and perceive the U.S. amid today’s shifting economic and geopolitical climate. The panelists will examine how political tensions, economic uncertainty and cultural dynamics shape travel narratives and influence attitudes toward the U.S., offering insight into the evolving role of Arizona as an international destination.
- Connecting the Dots between SEO, Branding and AI
  Sponsored by Casual Astronaut
  We’re in a new era of discovery, but some fundamentals haven’t changed: Great content still matters and smart SEO still works. What’s changed is the why. Today, you’re not just optimizing content to climb search rankings. You’re shaping how AI tools perceive, retrieve and recommend your destination. This session focuses on building a marketing strategy that works double duty — grounded in search best practices, but evolved for the way people (and machines) actually find and understand destinations today.

- Localizing Global Frameworks: Practical Approaches to Destination Stewardship — While global destination stewardship principles are universal, each destination faces its own unique considerations in implementing them. This panel will explore the opportunities and challenges of applying these frameworks at the local level. Speakers will share practical strategies, real-world examples and tools to identify gaps and tailor sustainable solutions that fit specific community needs and contexts.

- Session 4 – TBD

12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Lunch: Route 66 Celebration Continues! — Paradise Ballroom

1:00 – 1:45 p.m. Deborah Ostreicher, Founder, Distinguished Communications — Paradise Ballroom

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Concurrent Breakout Session
- Charting the Course: Navigating Global Travel Trade Impacts and Trends — Travel trade is essential to Arizona’s tourism economy, connecting global travelers to experiences and expanding market reach. AOT’s in-market Travel Trade Representatives from the UK, Germany, France, Canada and Mexico will share insights on international travel trends, market sentiment and how these factors are shaping visitation and industry growth.
- Story Spark: Igniting Tourism Through Authentic Voices — Unpack the power of the authentic stories that already exist within your community, just waiting to be told. This session will help tourism communicators identify, collect, synthesize and share the perspectives and experiences of the people who define the culture and the experience of their own Arizona communities. Driven by real-world successes and specific examples, this session is designed to be both a presentation and a discussion about unlocking local stories and delivering the ever-elusive “authenticity” that all visitors seek.

- Winning the Game: How Arizona Scored Big with Sports Tourism — Sports tourism drives economic impact, community pride and destination visibility. Join Visit Mesa, Tempe Tourism and Visit Tucson Sports as they share how successful events draw thousands, boost revenue and elevate their cities. Learn winning strategies, key partnerships and how community involvement fuels success. This session offers valuable takeaways for destination marketers, city planners and event managers looking to harness the power of sports tourism for regional growth.

- Gen Z and Millennials: The New Generation of Travelers
  Sponsored by Tripadvisor
  Gen Z and Millennials are transforming the travel industry with their distinct values, preferences, and digital-first behaviors. This presentation explores why these influential generations matter to brands, offers key insights into their travel behaviors and how to effectively engage them, and examines how they differ across each stage of the travel journey. Join us to gain valuable insights and discover how to connect with today’s most powerful travel consumers.

3:00 – 3:30 p.m. Afternoon Break — Arizona Ballroom

3:30 – 4:30 p.m. General Session – Panel TBD — Paradise Ballroom

5:00 – 6:00 p.m. Reception — Arizona Ballroom

6:00 – 8:30 p.m. Governor’s Tourism Awards Celebration — Paradise Ballroom

Friday, July 18

8:00 – 11:00 a.m. – Registration/Information Desk Open

8:00 – 8:45 a.m. Continental Breakfast — Arizona Ballroom

9:00 – 10:00 a.m. General Session: Dr. Anirban Basu, Sage Policy Group — Paradise Ballroom
Is the US economy headed for recession, or can America weather emerging trade wars, associated cost increases, and uncertainty? This presentation focuses on US and regional economic performance with an eye toward identifying emerging risks to what has been the world’s most envied economy. Among variables of interest are interest rates, employment growth, real estate valuations, and a variety of leading economic indicators.

10:00 – 10:15 a.m. Morning Break — Arizona Ballroom

10:15 – 11:00 a.m. General Session: Panel TBD — Paradise Ballroom

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. General Session: Panel TBD — Paradise Ballroom

12:00 p.m. – Conclusion

Sponsorships Now Available

This year’s sponsorship options deliver on the most-requested options based on feedback and requests from previous years.

While our general GCOT sponsorship options offer amazing exposure and value, this year we added DMO-only sponsorship options to meet the specific needs of statewide marketing organizations.

All of these packages provide the opportunity to participate in the conference at a variety of levels, offering flexibility to choose the sponsorship level that best suits budget and promotional needs.