BY STEPHEN AYERS
Staff Reporter / Verde Valley Independent

"Camp Verde abounds with tourism potential."

So goes the opening line of a draft report released by the Arizona Office of Tourism (AOT) on a study conducted this last year on Camp Verde's nascent tourism industry.

The town was the recipient of a grant last year that paid for an evaluation of the town's tourism potential and resources.

"The study evaluated our ability to become a tourism destination," Camber of Commerce Director Roy Gugliotta said. "It also gave us some short-term and long-term goals to pursue if we want to become successful in attracting visitors."

The report also comes out just as the town council is deciding whether or not to make a considerable investment in what could potentially become one of the communities major industries.

Next week the council will be asked to invest $30,000 as their matching portion of another AOT grant to be used for marketing, advertising and promoting Camp Verde.

Gugliotta says he feels the town is at a point where it needs to start investing.

"I am asking for money to help develop our economy," he said. "I think it is critical that we start thinking this way. It is not an investment in the chamber; it is an investment in the town."

Gugliotta is also quick to point out that 37 percent of the town's budget now comes from sales taxes and bed taxes.

"It's huge. And it can be even more if we stand committed to making it happen," he said.

The town council has had a lukewarm response to spending money on tourism in the past. They currently give $45,000 a year to the chamber to handle their tourism efforts.

"Percentage-wise it's a small investment for the return we receive," Gugliotta said.

The grant the chamber is asking for is a matching grant that will give the town $30,000 if the town invests $30,000.

"There are several opportunities for the town to participate individually and regionally," Gugliotta said. "Potentially there is around $360,000 available if we are willing to chip in."

The draft report from last year's study grant notes that Camp Verde has a number of unique characteristic that make it a prime candidate to build a sustaining tourism business.

Although it lays out a number of challenges the town faces, it is explicit in identifying Camp Verde as a "destination" as opposed to some place that is passed through on the way to some place else.

Among the recommendations in the report are:

• Increased and better signage
• Beautification
• Establishment of goals
• Development of a unique image
• Cooperative efforts with the Yavapai-Apache Nation and surrounding communities
• Create a unified theme that features Cliff Castle Casino, Out of Africa and the Verde River that centers on downtown
• Creation of a historic district

The report is currently only in draft form. Gugliotta expects a final report sometime in the next three weeks.

"Once we receive the final report we will get together with the chamber members, council members and the community and try to decide where we are headed.

"The bottom line is we are going to have to ask ourselves if going to invest in our businesses, our town and our future," Gugliotta said.