PHOENIX – Keep your eye out for a chance to participate in the 5-Year Visitor Survey from Arizona State Parks and Trails. The initiative is launching in January to help understand visitors’ needs and priorities, and your opinion could be counted. The agency will conduct randomized surveys of park guests throughout 2025.
The survey provides insight into service satisfaction at the state parks; visitor preferences for facilities, events and activities; and visitor demographics. Arizona State Parks and Trails is partnering with the University of Arizona Agriculture and Resource Economics Department and Arizona Conservation Corps to collect anonymous data to assess visitor experiences, set priorities to improve park services and amenities, and enhance overall visitor satisfaction.
The survey questionnaire will address topics like how visitors heard about the park, if they intend to visit again, what activities they enjoyed, their preferences on park operations and management (such as park hours, facilities, and admission fees), origin of visitor and more.
The 2021 economic impact report from the prior survey showed that Arizona State Parks and Trails contributed $449 million in visitor spending in and around the state parks, including multiplier effects. According to the report, state parks have a direct economic impact in the 13 counties in which they reside and also supported 4,200 jobs statewide.
As a self-sustaining agency with no taxpayer funding for the operation of its parks, Arizona State Parks and Trails relies on visitation to provide revenue for park maintenance, staffing, and upgrades. The visitor survey helps determine where visitor priorities lie and how to continue to provide amazing experiences within the parks.
Not everyone visiting a park will be surveyed, but random samples of campers, day-use visitors, and tour participants will be collected over the 12-month period. As a thank you, individuals who participate will receive a free day-use pass for a future park visit and also be entered into a drawing for a $50 Arizona State Parks and Trails gift card, which can be used toward camping and tour reservations or on retail purchases in state park gift shops.
