Living in a tourism-dependent state like Arizona, I’ve come to appreciate just how much travelers contribute to our economy, even if we occasionally complain about snowbirds clogging the highways or making it impossible to get a table at our favorite restaurant. In the ‘90s I worked with national parks like the Grand Canyon and our state’s museum community, both of which suffer tremendously when the usual influx of visitors is affected, as do the small businesses that cater to travelers. Every state isn’t as dependent on visitors as Arizona, but tourism is the first, second, or third revenue generator in every other state.
Arizona experienced what a downturn in tourism means in 1987 when racist, jackass Governor Ev Mecham rescinded MLK Day, which previous Governor Bruce Babbitt had proclaimed by Executive Order after Arizona’s conservative Legislature voted down the holiday. Immediately we heard of groups organizing nationally to boycott the state, many large conventions were canceled in Phoenix and Tucson, even the NFL declared Phoenix ineligible to host the Super Bowl, which itself was estimated to be a $200 million loss.
The hit to the state’s budget and reputation was huge, and the usually GOP-friendly business community partnered with civil rights groups, the travel sector, universities, and others to reverse Mecham’s bigoted policies by putting MLK Day on the ballot for voters to decide, and they finally said “yes” in 1993. To date, I think Arizona is the only state where the people, and not the governor or legislature, declared MLK Day.
Now that same threat is happening nationally thanks to trump’s blabbering about taking over Greenland, making Canada the 51st state, bailing on Ukraine and other European allies, and enacting tariffs on everything—starting a trade war no one will win, except maybe China. Canadian bookings to Arizona are down 70 percent, and it’s likely we’re going to see similar declines in other states and from other countries, especially as people read about visitors being detained by ICE for days at the border. Goldman Sachs estimated the lost revenue from missing tourists and trade could reach $90 billion.
But let’s face it: trump doesn’t give a flying fig about millions dying overseas because he’s ended USAID’s HIV program, or kids not getting lunches in American schools, or veterans losing benefits, or innocent Americans being deported to Central American gulags, or hundreds of thousands of federal employees out of work, or Meals on Wheels not delivering to senior citizens, or countless people, many children, dying because of RFK Jr’s anti-science agenda. He doesn’t give the same flying fig about the businesses and towns that will suffer because tourists are voting with their feet to stay away from trump’s hell hole. When asked about the projections that are scaring the heck out of the tourism sector, trump said,
“There’s a little nationalism there, I guess, perhaps,” Trump said, as a half-hearted, uninterested explanation for the drop. Then he made his lack of concern for Americans’ financial well-being more explicit. “It’s not a big deal,” he added.
Not a big deal?! You’re only wrecking one of the lead industries in every state. He complains about other counties “ripping us off,” but tourism is one sector where the US runs a trade surplus with most other nations. And it’s more than money, but tourism’s other benefits are not something Donald Trump could ever imagine—or care about.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” — Mark Twain
