Boycotts Taking Toll on Arizona

Hotels suffer from immigration law protests
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 27, 2010 3:53 AM CDT
Boycotts Taking Toll on Arizona
Arizona's tourist trade is much quieter than usual, state officials say.   (Shutter Stock)

Fewer visitors are heading to Arizona, but not the way state lawmakers envisioned when they crafted their controversial immigration law. Arizona businesses, especially those in the tourism and hospitality trades, are starting to feel the pain of boycotts launched to protest the law. So many conventions have been canceled that the state's hotel association has lost track, and Mexican cross-border shoppers are getting scarce in Nogales.

"The phone is not ringing," a spokeswoman for Arizona's hotel association tells the Christian Science Monitor, predicting that the industry will lose $90 million over the next 5 years. The boycotts, she complains, are hurting the wrong people. “Our hope is that people can separate tourism from the politicians,” she says. Supporters of the law, meanwhile, plan huge rallies this weekend and a "buy-cott" to counteract the effects of boycotts, the Arizona Republic reports.
(More tourism stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X