Destinations Council Destiny Awards > Special Projects

Mesa, Arizona Becomes First-Ever Autism Certified City

About This Entry:

Visit Mesa embarked on a year-long quest to tailor travel experiences for individuals with autism that led to a major declaration in November 2019. At the start of this journey, Visit Mesa became the country’s first-ever destination marketing organization designated as a Certified Autism Center by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES). This distinction is a result of the organization’s staff and governing board of directors completing hundreds of hours of specialized training to help families and individuals with special needs prepare for their perfect vacation and enjoy the varied travel offerings that can be had in Mesa, Arizona. Upon the heels of that achievement (earned in March 2019), Visit Mesa championed Arizona’s third-largest city to become America's First-Ever Autism Certified City. That was achieved Nov. 18, 2019 and marked the beginning of a new movement centered on inclusion that continues to this day. Visit Mesa’s staff are all Certified Autism Travel Professionals. By gaining recognition as the first Autism Certified City, Visit Mesa could tap into a market with 32 million annual travelers who spend more than $262 billion on autism-related services in the U.S. each year. Visit Mesa would be the catalyst in bringing awareness and comfort to ASD travelers around the country. What began as a localized hospitality campaign quickly evolved into a community-wide initiative as public (Mesa Police, Fire and Parks) and private agencies embraced the efforts of Visit Mesa and united with them to become autism-certified. Mesa hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues participated in specialized autism training geared toward executives and front-facing hospitality service staff to better recognize autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and service the needs of ASD travelers from the planning stages of a vacation to when they arrive in the destination, and throughout their stay. Our strategy to target the family travel market as well as older ASD travelers to consider visitation to Mesa, Arizona included research and development, video production, the development of planning tools both print and digital, an online website, community engagement and advocacy, and the execution of a robust ad campaign and public relations support.

Campaign Strategy:

Visit Mesa had to be strategic and efficient with how we developed and marketed this first-ever initiative. The messaging had to be impactful and succinct, our story had to be authentic, and partnerships had to be strategic. Visit Mesa started with an inside-out approach getting everyone on its staff and Board to become autism certified. Then worked on getting hospitality partners through the autism training. Visit Mesa supported the Mesa Chamber of Commerce and Board with training. Visit Mesa rallied the Mayor and key leaders and developed two informative videos – The Need and The Ask – which were powerful tools to lure citywide support. Soon after, Mesa Parks and Recreation trained 500 employees, and 1,200-plus Mesa Police Department law enforcement officers completed training. The Mesa Fire Department followed. The autism training was now being written into policy, Mesa’s entire community was engaged. The most notable adoption of autism certification was Copa Health, one of Mesa’s largest health resources. Together with Visit Mesa, they developed a tailored autism respite program for vacationing families allowing them to participate in leisure or other activities without guilt, fear or anxiety. They provided state-of-the-art, therapeutically designed activity centers and planned activities led by a team of Board-Certified Behavioral Professionals. The PR team secured a full-length destination feature in American Way after hosting a writer and her autistic son in our city. Visit Mesa promoted its autism-friendliness through numerous efforts including the development of www.AutismTravelAz.com, the DMO’s Autism-Certified Travel Planning website and a Print and Digital Autism Travel Guide, featuring sensory guides to attractions, parks, hotels and venues. The travel guide featured editorial from autism parents that experienced Mesa’s destination promise firsthand with their ASD children. Visit Mesa partnered with Geocaching.com and created the first-ever Autism GeoTour. They captured video testimonials of ASD families traveling to Mesa and shared their audit of our city, and secured editorial in the New York Times and Boston Globe. As of June 2021, 65 organizations within the hospitality industry, City and regional communities have committed to Autism Certification, representing 4,500 employees and more organizations looking to join the movement.

Results:

MEASURABLE RESULTS BASED ON STATED OBJECTIVES
Project Budget - $90,000 total:
$60,000 - Includes research and development, campaign development and production, video production, sensory and travel guide creation, landing page programming, kick-off event, geo- tour program development, apparel.
$30,000 – Includes printing and paid media costs to support campaign.

Overall Campaign Paid Media Results (November 2019 - March 2020):
Total Impressions: 21,137,189
Total Clicks: 132,848
Avg CTR: 0.63%
Total Video Views: 16,333,597
Avg VTR: 77.27%
Total Social Engagement Numbers: 5,591
Highest Average Session Duration on Website from Ads: 01:30

Overall Campaign Earned Media Results (April 2019 – May 2021):
Earned Media Articles: 335 features
Earned Media Reach: 190 million impressions (print and online)
Earned Media Value: $643,852

CONTRIBUTION TO THE STATE & NATION’S TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY
Mesa, Arizona becoming the first Autism Certified City by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES) provides greater awareness, understanding, sensitivity and most importantly, customer service to the ASD community. This movement ensures that everyone, every family, has as memorable vacation and experience as anyone else here in Arizona. Second, this was a business decision. Visit Mesa felt this was a great way to get in front of a very large and growing consumer base that is hyper loyal. The awareness of this campaign was overwhelming and helped elevate the state in all the resulting coverage. Visit Mesa is elevating Mesa’s brand to both domestic and global audiences through this initiative and it is already paying dividends. Mesa earned business from this initiative booking two accessibility conferences because of the certification announcement, including the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards Annual Conference (Spring 2022) and the United States Disabled Open Golf Championship (May 2021).

This citywide effort made sense for Mesa. We are a city of compassion with a big heart and there is substance and authenticity to this certification that we know visitors will embrace and more destinations will adopt.

Why This Is A Finalist: 

Visit Mesa saw a hole in the destination travel market and filled it. Great use of partnerships to develop a collaborative effort that transformed an entire city into an ASD-friendly destination. Becoming the first-ever DMO designated a Certified Autism Center will always be marketable, and something only Mesa can claim (trailblazer).

In 2020, the CDC reported that approximately 1 in 54 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. This organization understood the importance of families needing an dedicated vacation location - that understand the challenges. Well done!!

From my experience as one who has assisted young teens with Autism, individuals with Autism and their families are often overlooked or disregarded by those outside their communities. To have an organization cater to them even as a business decision is rare, but to set out to become the first-ever Autism Certified City is more than a big deal and an even bigger feat. This is why when an entire city rallies behind their CVB and succeeds at such a goal, there is no way they can't earn an Excellent score.