About Us

Experience Scottsdale is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit, private company that has contracts with the City of Scottsdale and Town of Paradise Valley to conduct destination marketing efforts on behalf of these municipalities.

Originally founded in 1987 as the tourism arm of the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce, Experience Scottsdale became a standalone organization in 2001. The organization has nearly 40 full- and part-time employees, along with a volunteer board of directors composed of local hospitality, tourism industry and business leaders.

Our staff brands the Scottsdale area as a world-class destination through advertisements, campaigns, social media and a variety of marketing and sales tactics. We work with meeting planners from all over the world to book their business in Scottsdale. We spread the word about the great things in Scottsdale by garnering media coverage both nationally and internationally. Plus, we teach travel agents how to sell our destination to their clients and work to get Scottsdale information in brochures and promotions.

Our primary funding comes from bed-tax revenue collected by Scottsdale resorts and hotels, as well as other transient non-hotel lodging, such as short-term rentals. This revenue is passed along to the City of Scottsdale. Half of the City’s bed tax is allocated to destination promotion, with the majority used to fund a contract with Experience Scottsdale for destination marketing initiatives.