The vast majority of Long Island, NY’s visitors have long come from New England, and Discover Long Island (DLI) confirmed that expanding beyond the weekend/summer visitation from Northeast markets was essential to filling mid- week and shoulder season periods while providing a more strategic/sustainable approach to tourism recovery.

Determined to change visitor distribution by location/duration/season, DLI needed to identify an ideal long-haul market and identified Arizona was a close second to California for travellers interested in LI’s assets.

Since penetrating the LA market is costly, and with the influx of Californians relocating to Phoenix during the pandemic, DLI saw an opportunity to access an ideal audience in an efficient, cost effective way. Not only did Phoenix’s resident base fit the profile of a traveller with the highest propensity to visit LI (RUF data), but its seasonality is the direct opposite of LIs.