Why more than 5 million people visit Flagstaff every year

FLAGSTAFF, AZ (AZFamily) — At 7,000 ft, surrounded by pine trees and temperatures about 30 degrees cooler than the Valley, Flagstaff draws more than 5 million tourists a year.

Ryan Randazzo with Discover Flagstaff said tourism is a key pillar of the city’s economy.

“It employs about 8,000 people so that’s about 1 in 10 people in the city of Flagstaff are employees in tourism,” Randazzo said.

It is only a 90-minute drive from town to the south rim of the Grand Canyon, and seven other national parks and monuments are nearby. Thus, it is a destination for international travelers.

“So that inspired people to take that trip of a lifetime from around the world and use Flagstaff as a hub to visit those national parks and monuments,” Randazzo said.

For foodies, Flagstaff also offers a variety of renowned restaurants and breweries. You can find a list of them here.

“Flagstaff has more than 200 restaurants. We’ve got eight award-winning craft breweries and now we actually boast four James Beards finalists all within walking distance of one another,” Randazzo said.

Of course, Flagstaff has the Coconino National Forest, which has dozens of hiking trails and campsites to explore. A list is posted on Discover Flagstaff’s website.

“It’s great for people who are really just looking for some forest solitude when they come up here,” Randazzo said.

So Randazzo said to come up and enjoy Flagstaff, cool off, and make some memories.

“Even for folks that have been here before from the Valley, I’m sure there is something up here in Flagstaff that they have not experienced especially during summer,” he said.

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