Kristen Jarnagin, vice president of communication for the Arizona Hotel and Lodging Association, was told by Fiesta Bowl organizers the band director’s cancellation was due to the new law. A letter to parents on the band’s website said the trip was cancelled because of the economy and the controversy over the new law.
In an interview on a Los Angeles radio station, Jarnagin mentioned that a high school band in Temecula cancelled in protest of the law which prompted radio hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou to probe into the situation. The Temecula Valley Unified School District said the cancellation was due to money. They said the band members wanted to attend but the school couldn’t afford it.
  
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The total cost was estimated to be around $100,000, but a letter from the booster president on the band’s site as well as Fiesta Bowl organizers confirm the band is Fiesta Bowl bound.
Depending on what poll you read, 60 to 70 percent of people across the country support Arizona’s anti-illegal immigration law and that has put the state’s tourism in a shadowy situation. Companies and organizations — like the Great Oaks High School’s band — are nervous about the double-edged sword created by the situation.
If you cancel, you face the possibility of become the target of wrath of a majority of the population. But coming makes a statement that could alienate customers and supporters as well.
Jarnagin, who moderated a breakfast at last week’s Governor’s Conference on Tourism at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, said that whatever decision is made, most insist they don’t want it made public.
“If companies or organizations were to receive feedback from people about their decision to cancel, maybe you would see them decide not to,” Jarnagin said. “It’s difficult to say how much we’ve been affected by the boycotts because we just don’t know how many were thinking about Arizona but hadn’t made a commitment before deciding against it. That’s one of the things we may need to be more proactive about.”
A social listening study from the Arizona Office of Tourism has shown that the “conversation” happening online about Arizona for the most part is positive.
“We conducted a social media listening study to see what people were saying about Arizona,” said Robin Jackalone, digital advertising manager with the Office of Tourism. “We found that people on their blogs were reporting or relisting stories about the law, but that they weren’t saying they were never going to come here, or that they recommended others to stay away. Overall, we’re seeing positive comments out there about Arizona.”
Brian Johnson, general manager of Loews Ventana Canyon, said releasing the names of those who cancel was not something his corporate office would want to see happen because it could lose their business elsewhere.
“People want to know who is cancelling,” Johnson said. “We get asked for specifics, but we don’t want this to become a Loews issue.”
Johnson said he’s had his share of cancellations, but beyond that, leads have slowed, the pace of business is slowing and people aren’t talking to them anymore.
“Just as we were beginning to make inroads and grow,” Johnson said. “It’s scary what’s happening to tourism around the state. My fear is for what will be facing us in 2011.”
He suggested hotel operators reach out to their elected officials to share their concerns. He said he’s tried to reach out to U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., twice but hasn’t received a return call. Grijalva initiated the economic boycott of the state.
Debbie Johnson, president and CEO of the Arizona Hotel and Lodging Association, said the bill (SB 1070) wasn’t on their radar as it moved through the Legislature.
“We viewed this as a political issue, not a tourism issue,” Johnson said. “It was a political issue we got swept into when Grijalva called for the boycott on Arizona. Then it became a tourism issue. The effects of a boycott are not felt by the legislators, but by the more than 200,000 people working in our industry in Arizona.”
Sherry Henry, director of the Arizona Office of Tourism, said her office is about to hire a public relations firm to go into targeted major markets to get the message out there about what the anti-illegal immigration law is and what it isn’t and to explain the industry’s view on who gets hurt from a boycott.
“More than that, we need to get the message out there about what Arizona is,” Henry said. “Arizona is still the same beautiful state it was six months ago. And whatever someone’s position on the law is, they are welcome in Arizona.”
Contact reporter Joe Pangburn at jpangburn@azbiz.com or (520) 295-4259.
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