FLAGSTAFF, AZ (AZFamily) — The tourism industry brings in about a trillion dollars annually to the U.S. economy, according to the U.S. Travel Association.
However, tourism to the U.S. is down about 10% compared to last year, especially international tourism. Many Arizona businesses rely on those tourism dollars.
For shops in downtown Flagstaff, tourism is their backbone. Shoes and Such manager Olive Caldwell said it’s been a slow start to the usually busy summer tourism season.
“Tourism is where we get most of our money from,” Caldwell said. “When it’s not as hot in Phoenix, we don’t get as much of the traffic from Phoenix, and I think some people from abroad are also waiting.”
According to the U.S. Travel Association, the U.S. could lose up to $21 billion in tourism revenue because international travel is down.
Josh Coddington with Arizona’s Office of Tourism said tourism is a $30 billion industry in the state.
“Arizona welcomes approximately about 5 million visitors from international destinations each year and that represents about 10% to 12% of our total visitation,” he said.
Coddington said international tourists tend to stay longer and spend more money. This kind of revenue is crucial to smaller communities like Page, Flagstaff and Sedona.
“They’re likely to visit a lot of places, which really kind of spreads the benefits of them being here around,” he said.
In Flagstaff, tourism creates about 8,000 jobs and about $750 million economic impact.
Coddington said the good news is that most of Arizona’s tourism comes from in-state travelers.
“Whether you live here or whether you’re 1,000 miles away, is come here, visit. You’re going to get a great experience and you’re going to be supporting local people and local communities,” Coddington said.
Caldwell said while the beginning of summer was unusually slow, with the heat in Phoenix, they’re seeing some much-needed business, even more international travelers.
“Just today I feel like I’ve had barley anybody who wasn’t from like France or Italy, or I even had someone from Spain today, and I’m like I don’t know what it is about August but everybody just comes in,” she said.
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