SB1070 Has Cost Arizona $140 Million In Lost Revenue From Tourism

Arizona, has lost a large sum of money defending the legality of SB1070, however the amount of money spent on the legal battles surrounding the law are dwarfed by the $140 million that the state has lost in revenue from a drop in tourism due to this anti-immigrant law.

Tim Gaynor of Reuters has the full story HERE:

A tourism and convention boycott of Arizona over its controversial crackdown on illegal immigrants has cost the state $141.4 million in lost spending, according to a study released on Thursday.

The Mexico border state passed the law in late April, ordering police to check the immigration status of anyone they suspected was in the country illegally, in a bid to curb illegal immigration and border-related crime.

The report was written by the Center For American Progress, and can be read HERE:

It is important to note that when discussing the loss of revenue to the state and the actual Boycott, that in examining these occurrences the educated reader acknowledges that there would be no need to call for a boycott, without SB1070.

Whether or not the boycott, achieved its stated goals, or the politics behind it were smart, the loss of revenue to the state would have happened either way.

What is clear from the information presented in this report is that there was a large constituency of people who were offended by SB1070. According to the report:

Lost visitor spending on items -- including food, drinks, entertainment and in-town transportation -- cost businesses an additional $96.4 million, the study reported.

So even without the Boycott, the state would have lost close to a $100 million dollars.  Reading this report provides one singular fact, that SB1070 has cost Arizona a significant amount of money in lost revenue from tourism. In a time when the state is running a huge deficit, revenue from tourism only helps the bottom line of everyone.

Furthermore it is understandable that tourists may not want to visit a state where if they are pulled over for having a busted tail light, and a police officer has "reasonable suspicion" that they may not be here legally, they could be arrested.

That tourists may not want to go to Arizona, because they dont want to worry about having adequate identification to prove their status in this country should  not be surprising.

At the end of the day, for people who are planning vacations, it is always easier just to go elsewhere to spend their hard earned money.