Unwelcome mat
Jan 15, 2014, 12:00 PM
Hey, State Legislature! Now that you’re back in session and expected to accomplish something, how about taking down the signs that tell visitors to just keep driving north to Nevada, the Home of the Grand Canyon?
Why are announcements made at Sky Harbor for arriving passengers to book flights to Florida and California, where there are oceans and beaches, instead of desert?
And Arizona just seems to go along with the idea that everything is bigger and better in Texas.
These things might as well be happening, because those states are kicking us in the wallet everyday. California and Texas spend a combined $100 million a year to attract tourists. Florida spends $75 million and Las Vegas alone spends a seductive $100 million annually to prove “What Stays in Vegas.”
How does Arizona compete? How much do we spend to show off our unparalleled beauty and adventure and attractions?
An embarrassing $7 million dollars, even though every tourism promotion dollar spent here returns $8 — an 8-to-1 investment benefit.
And if our leaders think our sunshine sells itself, Hawaii’s budget is 10 times that of Arizona’s.
What’s wrong with these numbers?
I’m Pat McMahon.
