A case study in resort climatology of Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Abstract

Tourists often use weather data as a factor for determining vacation timing and location. Accuracy and perceptions of weather information may impact these decisions. This study: (a) examines air temperature and dew points from seven exclusive resorts in the Phoenix metropolitan area and compares them with official National Weather Service data for the same period, and (b) utilizes a comfort model called OUTCOMES-OUTdoor COMfort Expert System-in a seasonal appraisal of two resorts, one mesic and one xeric, compared with the urban Sky Harbor International Airport first-order weather station site in the central urban area of Phoenix, Arizona, USA (lat. 33.43 degrees N; long. 112.02 degrees W; elevation at 335 m). Temperature and humidity recording devices were placed within or immediately adjacent to common-use areas of the resorts, the prime recreational sites used by guests on most resort properties. Recorded data were compared with that of the official weather information from the airport station, a station most accessible to potential tourists through media and Web sites, to assess predicted weather for vacation planning. For the most part, Sky Harbor's recorded air temperatures and often dew points were higher than those recorded at the resorts. We extrapolate our findings to a year-round estimate of human outdoor comfort for weather-station sites typical of resort landscapes and the Sky Harbor location using the OUTCOMES model to refine ideas on timing of comfortable conditions at resorts on a diurnal and seasonal basis.

Tourism climate and thermal comfort in Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan

“…Compared with previous studies of tourism climate in specific regions, e.g., Spain (Gómez Martín 2004), Austria (Matzarakis et al 2004b), Phoenix, Arizona (Hartz et al 2006), Lisbon, Portugal (Alcoforado et al 2004), Slovenia (Cegnar and Matzarakis 2004), and Florence, Italy (Morabito et al 2004), the advantage of the method employed in this research is that the PET index is more understandable for tourists who can assess the outdoor thermal condition based on their experience in an indoor environment. Furthermore, the PET frequencies for 10-day intervals combined with the results of the analysis of thermal comfort range display the likelihood of certain perceptions in detail for the whole year.…”

Urbanization diversifies land surface phenology in arid environments: Interactions among vegetation, climatic variation, and land use pattern in the Phoenix metropolitan region, USA

“…Inexpensive water available on an annual basis and warm winters make these practices feasible and profitable. In fact, tourism which relies on resorts with mesic landscaping and golf courses is the second most important industry in the Phoenix metro area (Hartz et al, 2006). Compared to multimodality, growth length does not display any trend along the urban-rural gradient.…”

Perceived deficiencies in the provision of climate and weather information for tourism: A New Zealand media analysis

“…Rain is an important inhibitor to outdoor activities and also influences people's decision to travel (Meyer and Dewar, 1999;Olsen 2002). Therefore, it is problematic if a destination is continuously reported as wet when in reality, conditions are more favourable than at the location of recording (Hartz et al 2006). Another important issue of forecasting is the inclusion of locations that are relevant to tourism.…”