The controversial Senate Bill 1070 in Arizona has resulted in the state being regarded in a negative light by a great many people, though Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton is quick to point out that not everyone is in agreement with the anti-immigration law, The Arizona Republic states. Stanton has given a speech to around two dozen event planners from all over the United States in which he spoke about his outlook of pro-diversity in the light of the falling number of convention guests to come to Phoenix.
The Phoenix Convention Center has seen bookings fall by 30% over the course of the current fiscal year when compared to 2009, and officials claim that it is a result of the city beginning to feel the after-effects of the immigration law that was passed back in 2010. While some people remain unconvinced of the connection, many prospective convention groups have openly admitted the state’s strict immigration law is the reason why they will no longer consider meeting in Arizona.
“We will not only speak with our voices and our feet, we will speak with our economic clout,” the-then president of national black fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha announced after they cancelled their event following the passage of the law. “And we will not spend our money in Arizona and urge other organizations and people who believe in equality under the law to do the same.”
A total of $141 million had been lost in convention visitor spending just by late 2010, according to The Center for American Progress.