Will tough new Georgia immigration law keep visitors away?

[The Northerner]

That's the concern of tourism promoters, who worry that a measure patterned after Arizona's controversial law could lead to similar cancellations in the Peach State.

Republican Gov. Nathan Deal is expected to sign Georgia's bill into law this week. The legislation would allow police to investigate the immigration status of certain suspects, and punish those who transport or harbor illegal immigrants in the state. Supporters say illegal immigrants are straining the resources of state schools, hospitals and jails, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and they point to a recent Pew Hispanic Center estimate that says Georgia is home to 425,000 illegal immigrants - more than those in Arizona.

But opponents, including the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, fear that Georgia could suffer "the same economic impacts that Arizona felt last year after enacting the nation's toughest immigration enforcement law," says the Journal-Constitution.

According to the Arizona Hotel & Lodging Association, the Grand Canyon State has lost about 40 conventions since the law passed, even though a federal judge blocked major portions of the Arizona legislation before it could take effect. A study released last fall by the Center for American Progress, a liberal policy group that opposes Arizona's immigration law, estimates that canceled conventions have cost the state $141 million in direct spending, along with 2,761 jobs and $9.4 million in tax revenue.

Read more: http://travel.usatoday.com/destinations/dispatches/post/2011/05/immigration-law-georgia-arizona-tourism-/169332/1

[pampango]

1. Georgia tourism boosters brace for impact of crackdown on illegal immigration

http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/georgia-tourism-boosters-brace-939693.html

As Gov. Nathan Deal prepares to sign into law a similar immigration measure, House Bill 87, tourism officials here are employing a series of strategies. They're pointing out the differences between Arizona's law and the Georgia legislation, highlighting Atlanta's civil rights history and emphasizing how cancellations could hurt tens of thousands of metro area workers.

Their biggest concern is the series of cancellations that struck Arizona soon after Gov. Jan. Brewer signed that state's hotly contested law. In all, the Grand Canyon State has lost about 40 conventions amid economic boycotts inspired by its crackdown on illegal immigration, according to the Arizona Hotel & Lodging Association. One estimate says the lost bookings have cost Arizona $141 million.

A study released in November by the Washington-based Center for American Progress, a liberal policy group that opposes Arizona's immigration law, estimates that canceled conventions have cost Arizona a total of $141 million in direct spending, along with 2,761 jobs and $9.4 million in tax revenue.

For example, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., a black fraternity, moved its convention from Phoenix to Las Vegas last year. The fraternity said Arizona’s law could “put the civil rights and the very dignity of our members at risk during their stay in Phoenix.” The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said 1,489 people attended the event, creating a $1.1 million economic impact for Las Vegas. ... The National Minority Supplier Development Council is expecting about 6,000 people to attend its annual conference at the GWCC this fall, Rand said. Last year, the council moved its conference from Phoenix to Miami Beach, saying Arizona's new law was "inconsistent with the ideals and principles" of the group. Miami Beach convention officials put its economic impact at $6.9 million.

[EC]

2. If there are that many immigrants there, they must have

jobs somewhere or so many would not have been there...I'm guessing that many meat-packing plants and farms, hotels and motels will be losing a lot of employees in the near future. So I think they'll have a lot more problems than just tourism.

[klook]

4. Not to mention construction

Without this labor, residential construction is going to get a lot more expensive in Ga.

[sinkingfeeling]

3. Hope so.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

5. I guess they'll have to check U-Haul records

to see what happens if and when they pass the law like they did in Arizona! :rofl: