The number of passengers flying out of the Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport soared 51 percent higher than a year ago thanks in part to a busy spring training season.
The airport said 167,550 passengers used Gateway in the first three months of the year. January travel was up 30 percent over last year, and February and March were both 60 percent higher.
Gateway anticipates it will continue to handle far more passengers this year with the ever-expanding cities served by Allegiant and the arrival of Spirit Airlines. Gateway projects 1.2 million passengers this year, up from 956,665 in 2011.
To help boost travel to the airport, the Mesa Convention and Visitors Bureau launched a 7-month-long advertising campaign last year that targeted residents of the cities Allegiant flies from. An Internet component triggered tourism ads to appear under various circumstances, said Milt Ford, the CVB’s sales and marketing director.
“If somebody was at their computer in North Dakota and there was a temperature difference of 20 degrees and they had researched travel within 60 days, then a Visit Mesa banner would pop up,” Fort said.
He considers the effort successful, saying 49,000 people entered a sweepstakes for free vacations for two based on the ads.
However, the surge of Gateway passengers didn’t translate to better times for hotels that have yet to fully recover from a drop in travel during the recession.
Occupancy rates are only up slightly from last year. The submarket that includes Mesa, Chandler and Gilbert had 83.5 percent occupancy in March, compared with 83.0 percent a year earlier. Tempe rose to 89.0 percent in March, from 87.4 in March 2011. The Valley’s occupancy rate in March was 82.7 percent.
Fort said he doesn’t expect much improvement in hotel occupancy this year because presidential election years tend to have slight declines or little growth.
“Don’t ask me why, but it is cyclical,” he said.
But 2011 saw improvements. Valley hotel occupancy rose about 4.4 percent, while the East Valley jumped nearly 16 percent, Fort said.
Contact writer: (480) 898-6548 or ggroff@evtrib.com
SunWorshiper posted at 11:45 am on Thu, Apr 19, 2012.
I've never flown Allegiant nor been to Phx-Mesa Gateway. However, would like to know....is the airport security check the same as at SkyHarbor with TSA agents?? Or do Allegiant staff (and the other carrier there) or Phx-Mesa provide the checks?? My curiosity is piqued by prior "Gateway Activity" reports, for example late summer when the route to Pasco, Washington, is cut back or suspended, which generally coincides to a lower level of Ag jobs in that Mid-Columbia area. My real question is whether Phx-Mesa Gateway is the "gateway" for those illegally crossing the border through AZ to conveniently (and comfortably) get to another state and who is minding the check point?
downtownresident posted at 12:46 pm on Thu, Apr 19, 2012.
TSA Agents staff every airport that has commercial flight traffic.
I have flown out of there, and I assure you that no illegals would be allowed on board.
No valid picture ID (at least a driver's license) and a valid boarding pass; no getting on the plane.