This city may leave visitors starry-eyed

Tucson, Arizona, may well leave some skyward-looking visitors star-struck.

The desert city’s efforts to curb light pollution and its dry climate make it an ideal part of the world to view nighttime skies, with bordering Saguaro National Park having been named an Urban Night Sky Place by DarkSky International, which includes among its mission combating light pollution and was actually founded in and is currently based in Tucson. Including Urban in the park’s recognition reflects its bordering Tucson, home to some streets that don’t have street lights, part of an effort to reduce light pollution.

“The greatest places for star-gazing are the Atacama Desert (in northern Chile) and southern Arizona,” says Mary Rittmann, Vice President of Communications & Tourism at Visit Tucson, whose city is an hour from the Mexican border.

Southern Arizona has numerous observatories and Tucson-area Mt. Lemmon is home to Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter, which has what Rittmann labels “the largest telescope in the world open to the public for star-gazing.” That vantage point is found at the upper reaches of the mountain, which tops 9,000 feet. Some Tucson hotels offer guests star-gazing, with astronomers on hand to provide tips.

Tourism authorities add that Tucson vacations can have a noticeable Mexican flair as well, with the city once actually part of the Mexican state of Sonora. It and the surrounding area were purchased from Mexico by the United States in 1854.

Visit Tucson says Mexican influences can still easily be found in a city where 42% of the population is Hispanic and which celebrates such events as Mexico’s Independence Day and the Day of the Dead, the latter which sees people pay tribute to deceased family members.

Visit Tucson’s communications manager Mo Calderon adds that visitors can enjoy “amazing” Mexican food that can be “very Sonoran,” enabling people to experience authentic dishes. The city’s official travel guide flatly states that Tucson has “America’s best Mexican Food.” One James Beard-nominated restaurant serves vegan Mexican dishes.

Tucson was the first American city to receive Creative City of Gastronomy recognition from UNESCO, with Calderon reporting that some 5,000 years of the cultivation of the likes of corn, beans and squash in the area helped it attract UNESCO attention. Tucson is one of only two U.S.cities to receive the UNESCO tribute.

“Our Mexican influence is legitimate,” adds Rittmann, who suggests that influence is more visible in Tucson than it is in other American cities.

Mexican beaches can be visited on day trips, although Rittmann cautions that rental cars can’t be taken across the Mexico-U.S. border.

Tucson sees large numbers of visitors from British Columbia and Alberta during the winter, and Rittmann reports it’s also hosting Ontario residents, who tend to spend more during their vacations as they stay in hotels, whereas Westerners often have homes there.

“All of them are really important,” she continues.

Visit Tucson — promoting a part of the world that sees more than 300 days of sunshine a year — says part of Tucson’s allure is scenery, with desert landscapes that are home to trees, cacti and flowers, and different wildlife awaiting visitors. Indeed, Rittmann labels the Saguaro Desert “the wettest desert on Earth” during its rainy seasons.

The area also has mountain ranges, terrain that attracts cyclists who compete in the Tour de France.

Also awaiting energetic sorts is the maintained, 137-mile Chuck Huckelberry Loop, used by cyclists, hikers and others relying on a form of locomotion “that doesn’t have a motor,” Rittmann says.

Golf is another draw, with public courses that charge US$40 for greens fees available for visitors.

Tucson hosts the PGA Senior Tour’s Cologuard Classic each year.

Tucson is gaining new hotel options, among them the Leo Kent, which occupies 9 floors of a downtown structure and falls under the Marriott banner. Another newer hotel is The Eddy, which opened last year in Tucson’s foothills and is part of Hilton.

Meanwhile, Rittmann says winter is Tucson’s high season and so summer visitors will find lower hotel rates.