Appendix E - Survey of Attitudes About Growth and Tourism

A resident/visitor survey was created to assess the attitudes of visitors and residents of the Sonoita-Elgin area about tourism and growth. Survey respondents were asked to identify the factors they enjoyed about the area, as well as to describe how they felt about tourism and growth. The survey was conducted on four different occasions: the Annual Harvesting of the Grapes Festival held in Elgin; and the Santa Cruz County Fair, a Sonoita-Elgin Chamber of Commerce/Sonoita Crossroads Community Forum (SCCF) meeting, and an SCCF Open Space Working Group Meeting held in Sonoita. A total of 264 surveys were completed by 160 visitors and 104 residents as follows:

event	visitors	residents	TOTAL
Grapes Festival	122	23	145
County Fair	37	52	89
Chamber/SCCF meeting	1	18	19
Open Space meeting*	-	11	11
TOTAL	160	104	264

* A number of participants at the Open Space meeting had already filled out the survey at the Chamber/SCCF meeting.

Respondents varied in terms of age, gender, income, and place/length of residence, as shown in Table E-1.

Table E-1. Demographic composition of survey respondents.

a. Age (in years)

<20	20 - 29	30 - 39	40 - 49	50 - 59	60 - 69	70+
10	31	46	56	58	49	14

b. Gender

Male	Female
87	22

c. Household Incomes

< $20,000	$20,000-$39,999	$40,000-$59,999	$60,000-$79,999	$80,000+
18	51	72	35	59

d. Place of Residence

e. Length of Residence*
(in years)

Patagonia	23
Green Valley	4
Sierra Vista	30
Sonoita	45
Elgin	12
Tucson	79
Phoenix	30
Other place in Arizona	27
California	1
Other place	10

< 2	20
2 - 4	21
5 - 9	25
10 - 14	12
15 - 19	7
20 - 24	5
25 - 29	1
30 - 39	3
40+	5
* of area residents only

A multiple-part question asked what factors attract people to the Sonoita-Elgin area. Respondents, both residents and visitors, were asked to check all of the reasons they enjoy the area. Table E-2 show the responses to the multiple-part question. The percentages represent the proportions of either visitors or residents who marked each factor. Two of the questions on the resident surveys addressed perceptions of tourism and growth. One question asked: "Do you consider tourism in this area to be a cause of its population growth?" Respondents could write in more lengthy responses than simply "Yes" or "No." Analysis included careful categorization of each of the 92 written responses; only those that were clearly and directly either a "Yes" or a "No" response are reported as results. After considering all resident surveys, 57 were judged to be "Yes" responses, while 35 were "No" responses.

Table E-2. Factors that Attract People to the Sonoita-Elgin Area.

	visitors		residents		TOTAL
pleasant climate	126	78.75%	95	91.35%	221	83.71%
away from cities	114	71.25%	89	85.58%	203	76.89%
clear skies	98	61.25%	92	88.46%	190	71.97%
rural flavor	99	61.88%	77	74.04%	176	66.67%
unspoiled environment	91	56.88%	66	63.46%	157	59.47%
opportunity to see wildlife	74	46.25%	81	77.88%	155	58.71%
western ranching feel	74	46.25%	62	59.62%	136	51.52%
local heritage	48	30.00%	53	50.96%	101	38.26%
opportunity for recreation	38	23.75%	41	39.42%	79	29.92%
safety	22	13.75%	52	50.00%	74	28.03%
TOTAL	160		104		264

The responses to another similarly open-ended question were broken down into more categories. The question asked: "Do you think that the growth occurring in the Patagonia, Sonoita, and Elgin area is good?" Responses were as follows:

yes	22	(8.3%)
no	39	(14.8%)
depends/yes & no/up to a point, etc.	33	(12.5%)
necessary, but not indicated as "good"	4	(1.5%)

These responses lead to the conclusion that people are at least somewhat concerned about the growth that is occurring in the area.

The survey results suggest that visitors and residents enjoy similar qualities of the Sonoita-Elgin area. Respondents take pleasure in the climate more than any other virtue of the area. The rural flavor found in places away from cities is also enjoyed by all residents, though at varying levels. Opportunities to see wildlife and take part in or learn about the local heritage seem much more important to residents than to visitors. Safety is evidently the least essential reason for living in or visiting the Sonoita-Elgin area, although about half of the residents consider it to be important.

The information in this appendix was gathered, analyzed, and summarized by Jennifer Merrill, a graduate student in Geography at the University of Arizona.

Next: Appendix F: Open Space Framework

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Sonoita Crossroads Community Forum
P.O. Box 1274
Sonoita, AZ 85637