As reports come forward that there will be a decision today by a federal court regarding an injunction on Arizona’s immigration law that is to take effect tomorrow, one of the tools that has been used by activists against the law, boycotting of hotels, appears to not be working.
According to reports, hotel bookings across Arizona as well as in tourism hot spots Phoenix and Scottsdale -- have been going up during the past two months.
And according to Barry Broome, president of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, he is saying."Fundamentally, the boycotts have been unsuccessful,".
The data from hotel from reports showed for the state of Arizona, hotel occupancy was up 5.7 percent in May and up 8.3 percent in June compared with the same time a year ago.
In Phoenix, occupancy was up 10.6 percent in June; in Scottsdale, it was up 10.7 percent for the same period. Revenue also was up, with Arizona hotels raking in $148 million last month -- up more than 11 percent from a year ago.
Broome said Arizona has also has been able to attract new businesses to locate in Arizona despite bad publicity. He said his group plans to announce 2,000 to 3,000 new jobs thanks to investment from California, where Arizona boycotts are in place in several major cities, over the next few months.
No doubt Arizona will continue to hear groups say they don’t want to go there. Major League Baseball players are a perfect example of individuals with a huge international influence essentially dumping on the state; demanding that next year’s MLB all start game should not be held in Phoenix; that they won’t go if it is.
But if the law does go into effect today and the impact does not bring the allegations of racial profiling suggested by the worries of the President, and it does bring the intended results, you can look for other states to follow.
The court will rule today.
