Cotton-candy sunsets. Starry desert skies. Towering saguaro cacti. At Experience Scottsdale, we want everyone to witness the wonders of Scottsdale’s Sonoran Desert and experience our unique blend of luxury, relaxation and adventure.
That’s why in recent years, both Experience Scottsdale and the city of Scottsdale have taken intentional steps to ensure everyone feels welcome here.
Our Commitment
Experience Scottsdale’s mission is to promote the Scottsdale area as a luxury destination for meetings, events and leisure travel. In doing so, we invite people from all over the country and world to visit and meet in Scottsdale.
People of all backgrounds and experiences not only visit Scottsdale but also call Scottsdale home. They include our employees, colleagues, neighbors, family members and friends. Experience Scottsdale is fully committed to listening and learning so that all people, no matter their differences, feel respected, represented and safe in our community.
Experience Scottsdale proudly promotes Scottsdale, and we proudly celebrate all our community members and visitors.
Our Strides
By cultivating a more inclusive tourism industry, Experience Scottsdale is helping to advance sustainable economic growth and community vitality.
We have expanded our marketing to capture perspectives that are more reflective of our visitors for our website, social media channels and marketing campaigns. We’ve published stories on our website to highlight unique voices in our community. And to ensure people of all abilities can easily access our content, Experience Scottsdale has added an accessibility tool that customizes browsing experiences on both the mobile and desktop versions of ExperienceScottsdale.com.
Our Partnerships
Experience Scottsdale is a proud member of the following organizations, and we have collaborated with additional organizations with the hopes of expanding our customer base, providing the best service possible, and supporting a vast workforce that allows our industry to put its best foot forward.
OUR COMMUNITY
Here in Scottsdale, you can support restaurants, bars, shops, spas and art galleries owned and operated by diverse members of our community. You can tour attractions and institutions that celebrate cultures and histories like Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, Heard Museum and Musical Instrument Museum. You can attend annual events like the Arizona Indian Festival, the Scottsdale Jazz Festival, the Juneteenth Celebration and the Rainbows Festival.
Beyond offering such opportunities and experiences, Scottsdale is committed to fair treatment of residents, visitors and employees in the community. In April 2021, the Scottsdale City Council adopted an anti-discrimination ordinance that prohibits discrimination based on actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. The ordinance provides a clear and comprehensive mandate for the prevention of discrimination in employment, housing, places of public accommodation, and city services, programs and activities.
The anti-discrimination ordinance was championed by the city’s Human Relations Commission, an advisory body for the mayor and council. Following its passage, Scottsdale received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Municipal Equality Index.
OUR ACCESSIBILITY
Experience Scottsdale partnered with Wheel the World, an online booking platform where seniors and people with disabilities can discover travel accommodations and experiences that meet their individual accessibility needs.
Through our partnership, Scottsdale-area hospitality businesses receive assessments from Wheel the World’s team of experts that consider all types of disabilities, such as mobility-related, sensory, and cognitive.
Learn more about Scottsdale’s fully accessible accommodations, restaurants, attractions and adventures to barrier-free trails on our Travel Accessibility in Scottsdale webpage.
OUR NATIVE ROOTS
Scottsdale is located on the ancestral homeland of the O’Odham (known as the Pima) and the Piipaash (known as the Maricopa). Native peoples have inhabited this landscape for millennia, and the city remains spiritually connected to the O’Odham of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRP-MIC) who live here today.
The SRP-MIC borders the city of Scottsdale, and it is a confederation of two unique cultures with their own languages, customs, cultures, religions and histories. The traditional territory of the Akimel O’Odham and Piipaash extends much further throughout the Southwestern United States and Mexico, and the landscape is sacred, reflecting cultural values central to their ways of life. Their oral history and song culture is tied to tangible places associated with specific historic, cultural and religious values. These places, like the mountains that surround Scottsdale and the SRP-MIC, are reminders and links to their ancestors.
Experience Scottsdale partners with many attractions and hotels located within the SRP-MIC. Arizona is home to 22 federally recognized, sovereign Native American nations, and Experience Scottsdale strives to recognize, celebrate and share their respective customs, traditions and businesses with visitors traveling to Arizona through our stories, itineraries and promotions.
Find additional information on visiting the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and Arizona’s tribal lands at Discover Salt River and Visit Arizona.
