Second Mesa, AZ -- (ReleaseWire) -- 12/09/2013 --A new tourism program, Explore Hopi, now offers visitors the convenience of online shopping through ExploreHopi.com.

This new online shopping is a major addition to the Explore Hopi website, launched in August to serve visitors to Hopi and other tourism attractions of the Hopi Tribe Economic Development Corporation (HTEDC).

“People are asking for access to these products and this new feature to our website offers just that,” said Kevin Lombardo, CEO of HTEDC. “With the Holidays here, this is a good time to launch this part of our site. We are also working on both additional products and bringing authentic Hopi art to the online experience early in 2014.”

ExploreHopi.com features an initial line of authentic Hopi gifts and souvenirs sent to shoppers direct from the Hopi Cultural Center or the “Center of the Universe.” There are t-shirts in several designs and colors, two styles of hats, Hopi water bottles and travel mugs and much more.

Also, what makes this online shopping experience with these Hopi items unique is the symbolism of Hopi culture imprinted on each item. These symbols of an ancient but still thriving way of life in the Southwest give people a closer connection to the rich Hopi meanings of the sun, water, corn, the Hopi directions and more.

In addition to the new online shopping, Explore Hopi is an invitation to visitors to tour Hopi lands. Explore Hopi’s tour operators provide custom tours to highlight art, petroglyphs & Hopi villages. ExploreHopi.com is an official, Hopi-owned resource highlighting the tradition & culture plus history of the Hopi people. Each of several Explore Hopi tour packages also includes the Explore Hopi dinner in the Hopi Cultural Center Restaurant, where visitors are served traditional foods, in the way they were intended, family-style.

Explore Hopi and a main feature of its new website, ExploreHopi.com, offers outstanding, authentic variety for visitors to experience the Southwest. Explore Hopi invites visitors to stay at Days Inn Kokopelli in Sedona, to refuel with a cultural break from a Southwest journey at the Hopi Travel Plaza in Holbrook and to base a visit to the Hopi “Center of the Universe” at the Hopi Cultural Center Restaurant & Inn on Second Mesa. The Days Inn Kokopelli, Hopi Travel Plaza and Hopi Cultural Center Restaurant & Inn are all Hopi-owned and managed by the HTEDC.

Explore Hopi is thrilled to offer a new website for all travelers to this undiscovered part of Arizona and now to offer the convenience of online shopping for authentic Hopi products as well. ExploreHopi.com is a resource to a very special cultural experience for visitors to the Grand Canyon State – visitors from other parts of the U.S. and those from all over the world. Hopi features breathtaking surroundings that fill the senses and feed the soul. The three mesas, home to the 12 villages of Hopi and Tewa, are truly unique and offer once-in-a-lifetime experiences. The Hopi people have lived here for centuries — Oraibi village is the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the United States.

About Explore Hopi
Explore Hopi is sponsored by the Hopi Tribe Economic Development Corporation, HTEDC. HTEDC was formed in 2005 by the Hopi Tribal Council to create and harness an economic environment that will blossom, by securing resources, and provide the guidance and training that allows Hopi Tribe members to prosper and preserve their homeland and culture. Headquartered in Flagstaff, the HTEDC owns and operates, on behalf of the Hopi Tribe, the following enterprises: Hopi Cultural Center Restaurant & Inn on Second Mesa; Days Inn Kokopelli in the Village of Oak Creek (Sedona); the Hopi Travel Plaza off I-40 near Holbrook; Hopi 3 Canyon Ranches near Winslow, Springerville and Flagstaff; and the commercial properties of Heritage Square, Continental Plaza and Kachina Square in Flagstaff.

Contact
Clarice Tafoya, Explore Hopi Director, (928) 380-5144, ctafoya@explorehopi.com or
Hannah Honani, Project Coordinator, Explore Hopi, (928) 734-0044, explorehopi@hopiculturalcenter.com