The message from the Sedona Chamber of Commerce has remained the same for the past few years: When it comes to tourism, the goal is quality over quantity with less visitors spending more money.

Sedona City Council members and chamber offi­cials expressed those thoughts during a retreat on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at which more than three hours were spent discussing the chamber’s accomplishments of the previous year and what’s on the horizon for 2020.

“Are you happy with what we’re doing?” asked Lonnie Lillie, chamber board president. “Do you want us to maintain what we’re doing?”

The consensus from the council on both of those ques­tions was yes, with “maintaining” being the operative word. The chamber’s marketing budget will again be low, focusing on specific sites and individuals. 

While officials touched on the chamber’s budget, offi­cials spent the majority of the meeting dealing with the chamber’s current focus: The Sustainable Tourism Plan. 

Approved by council last year, the plan was created by the chamber, the city of Sedona, Nichols Tourism Group, Arizona State University’s Center for Sustainable Tourism and a local advisory group.

“The last couple of years we’ve been focused on the Sustainable Tourism Plan to truly live up to our brand of keeping Sedona the most beautiful place on earth,” Chamber President and CEO Jennifer Wesselhoff said, noting that tourism worldwide is changing. “We’re often looked upon as a leader when it comes to this change and looking at tourism in a sustainable way.”

One of the plan’s stated goals is to “implement sustainable principles, positioning Sedona as a national and international leader in destination stewardship,” through four pillars of sustainable tourism and the objectives of each. These pillars include: 

Environmental 

• Implement new waste prevention, reduction and diversion, focused on visi­tors and their impacts in the Sedona area. 
• Expand programs that encourage minimal water use and protect water quality. 
• Create new programs to help businesses and visitors moderate energy consumption and use alter­native forms of energy. 
• Launch initia­tives that lessen impacts including noise, air and light, and ensure long-term sustainability. 
• Lead in educating and engaging visitors about sustainability and being a sensitive guest while in Sedona. 

Resident Quality of Life 

• Recognize that tourism negatively and positively impacts residents’ quality of life. Continue to eval­uate and protect against “over-tourism.” 
• Expand use of shuttles to reduce vehicular traffic and enhance access to trails and other destinations. 
• Implement new infra­structure and solutions to facilitate visitor traffic flows. 
• Expand technology to help solve transportation. 
• Deepen engagement with Sedona residents, expanding their knowledge of tourism and efforts to manage it in balance. 
• Develop new experi­ences that resonate with Sedona residents and visitors, while enhancing their understanding of sustainability. 
• Manage current and future accommodations that ensure they balance long-term sustainability of Sedona. 

 Quality of Economy 

• Sustain economic activity in slow periods and disperse visitation to moderate congestion. 
• Expand collabora­tion to maximize capa­bilities among Sedona organizations. 
• Adjust tourism marketing to balance resi­dents’ quality of life and a healthy economy. 
• Pursue innovative approaches to employee housing and training. 

Visitor Experience 

• Deepen understanding of existing experiences, how best to achieve them and how to apply sustain­ability practices while visiting. 
• Work to disperse visi­tors across the Verde Valley to help moderate conges­tion at Sedona locations. 

“I hope you have seen and felt the changes and the shift our organization has made within the commu­nity,” Wesselhoff said. “We truly feel it’s the dawning of a new day in terms of tourism in Sedona. This is why we have launched our campaign, ‘The End of Tourism As We Know It.’