Arizona took another hit Wednesday as Republicans cast a vote for the home of their 2012 convention. Phoenix made the short list but lost out to Tampa.
It was little surprise to tourism officials in Arizona. Since the state passed the nation's toughest immigration law three weeks ago, its meeting and events business has fallen drastically. Hispanic civil rights groups are boycotting Arizona and urging others to do the same. ... The city risks losing as much as $90 million in hotel and convention business over the next five years because of the controversy, according to city estimates released Wednesday. The state's hotel and lodging association has counted 23 canceled meetings for a loss of between $6 and $10 million. On Wednesday, Los Angeles became the largest city to join the boycott. Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/12/AR2010051203317.html ALSO - according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll: 70 percent of Hispanics oppose the new law. http://snipurl.com/w7y6p [newsbusters_org] [NOTE: Hispanics make up 30% of Arizona's population.]
