16 February 2018

A Travel Site Selects Mesa: Who's Getting "Artsy" Driving Travel Bookings?

From the City of Mesa Newsroom yesterday 15 Feb 2018 @ 4:54 PM
Mesa named one of the most artistic cities in the U.S.
Mesa has been named by Expedia, Inc. as one of the most artistic cities in the United States. The travel company includes Mesa in the large city category, with a population between 350,000 and 1 million, as having a thriving arts community.
"Mesa has a vibrant arts culture that is growing with new artists' lofts, an emerging music scene and the beginnings of an innovation district that blends creativity, coworking, business and education," Mayor John Giles said. "We are proud to be recognized as one of the most artistic cities in the country."
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BLOGGER COMMENTS
> The rules in Expedia's survey clearly state that they've chosen cities with populations under 1 million in the city center - downtown Mesa in reality has way less than 10,000
> The opening  on the travel site Expedia's Viewfinder website is this quote from Democratic President Lyndon Johnson between known for his War on Poverty and The Great Society
“Art is a nation’s most precious heritage. For it is in our works of art that we reveal to ourselves and to others the inner vision which guides us as a nation.” –Lyndon Johnson
Why do you love to travel?
> Named as an "artistic city" by a travel-booking site?
Sure why not when information from the city's Open Data Portal shows that visitor-counts to city-owned/managed institutions have decreased over time:
Number of Visitors to Downtown Mesa City Attractions
See the actual data on this dashboard > http://open.mesaaz.gov/dashboards/19812/placemaking/ 
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Mesa, with a population of 484,587, was recognized for its easy access to the arts. Expedia cited the Mesa Arts Center as a "veritable one stop shop of creativity" with performing and studio art classes; Broadway shows and concerts; WordPlay Cafe offering an open mic for poetry, storytelling and music; and exhibits at the free, five-gallery Mesa Contemporary Arts museum.
The City was also recognized for the i.d.e.a. Museum for promoting children's exploration of creativity and learning and the Mesa Community College Performing Arts Center for offering music, dance, theater and a new art gallery to showcase student art. Expedia also said downtown Mesa is "well worth exploring, with its over 200 sculptures and art hub."
Mesa was honored by Expedia as one of the most artistic large cities along with Washington, D.C., Indianapolis, Honolulu, Charlotte, St. Louis and Baltimore. Mesa was the only Arizona city recognized as one of the most artistic towns in the U.S.
Original source for more news from Mesa Now
For more information, visit
www.viewfinder.expedia.com/features/americas-artistic-towns/.
Public Information and Communications
Contact: Steve Wright
Tel. 480-644-2069
steven.wright@mesaaz.gov
 

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