Border fortification and the Minutemen may be stopping more than just illegal immigrants crossing the Mexican border into the United States, specifically into Arizona: they may also be stopping people who want to visit the state.
According to an October 2006 article in the Arizona Republic by Chris Hawley, the number of people flying into Phoenix from Mexico City and the number of people making day trips across the border has dropped dramatically since Arizona's border with Mexico became the border-to-protect du jour. People have even less of a reason to leave the comfort of their own country to come to the United States to shop, with retailers such as Prada, Chanel, Hermès, and Rolls Royce setting up shop in Mexico City.
To combat the competition from such distant rivals, both Phoenix and Tucson are making strides to attract more consumers from Mexico. The Phoenix metro area has several plans with developer Westcor to build more shopping and mixed-use areas to attract more luxury retailers to the Valley of the Sun. One of the most ambitious of the projects is Palisene, which will house hotels, condos/lofts, and shopping; there have already been reports that Prada and Gucci are interested in opening stores there, and that Barneys New York is looking to at least open a Barneys Co-op there.
In Tucson in late 2006, Tiffany & Co. and Louis Vuitton both opened up stores, with aims to attract people who live in the northern part of Mexico, where it is closer to cross the border than to head south to Mexico City.
At the very least, all of the luxury retailers coming to Arizona will keep the people who are already here around.
Check out the entire article from the Arizona Republic here: http://www.banderasnews.com/0610/to-ritzytourists.htm
If you would like to know more about retail growth in Phoenix and Tucson, go to www.westcor.com, where you can also find out more information about Palisene.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Monday, January 15, 2007
American Border Cities: The Newest Tourist Traps
It's Saturday afternoon and you're standing in line at a store in your local mall, waiting to pay for your merchandise. The people at the register, just in front of you, seem to be taking a while to checkout. You decide to be patient, to give them the benefit of the doubt as you shift your weight to your other leg and start to space out.
A few minutes goes by and the people at the register still haven't left; half of the stuff they are buying is still bunched in their arms. You start to get irritated at how long it is taking and step a little closer, focusing on exactly what is happening at the register to see what is holding the line up.
It is your ears that realize what's going on first as you hear the rolling r's, the "ye" sound of the double ll, and the overall speaking speed of the Spanish language coming from the people. Occasionally a phrase of English will haltingly pass through their lips, but they, and the frazzled sales associate behind the register, rely more on the age-old standby of miming to get their respective points across. A transaction that should take more than a three minutes is now taking closer to fifteen as key pieces of information keep getting lost in hand-gesture translation.
It is after you hear the sales associate say, "OK, let me start over again," that you start to get really mad and start to think not-so-nice thoughts about all of the people passing illegally through the border and about how they refuse to learn English, ultimately leading to situations like this when a half-hour-long trip to buy some socks and a new polo suddenly becomes an hour-long ordeal. The problem is, you're missing one key piece of information: These people are not immigrants and they are not illegal.
These people are part of a growing group of people from Mexico that are spending their free time, their vacation days, and, perhaps more importantly, their money here in America, especially in towns and cities close to the border.
This blog is here to explain why exactly so many Mexican citizens are trekking across the border for shopping and other leisure activities and how their visits are affecting the economies of towns and cities along the border as well as the entire national economy.
A few minutes goes by and the people at the register still haven't left; half of the stuff they are buying is still bunched in their arms. You start to get irritated at how long it is taking and step a little closer, focusing on exactly what is happening at the register to see what is holding the line up.
It is your ears that realize what's going on first as you hear the rolling r's, the "ye" sound of the double ll, and the overall speaking speed of the Spanish language coming from the people. Occasionally a phrase of English will haltingly pass through their lips, but they, and the frazzled sales associate behind the register, rely more on the age-old standby of miming to get their respective points across. A transaction that should take more than a three minutes is now taking closer to fifteen as key pieces of information keep getting lost in hand-gesture translation.
It is after you hear the sales associate say, "OK, let me start over again," that you start to get really mad and start to think not-so-nice thoughts about all of the people passing illegally through the border and about how they refuse to learn English, ultimately leading to situations like this when a half-hour-long trip to buy some socks and a new polo suddenly becomes an hour-long ordeal. The problem is, you're missing one key piece of information: These people are not immigrants and they are not illegal.
These people are part of a growing group of people from Mexico that are spending their free time, their vacation days, and, perhaps more importantly, their money here in America, especially in towns and cities close to the border.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
This blog is here to explain why exactly so many Mexican citizens are trekking across the border for shopping and other leisure activities and how their visits are affecting the economies of towns and cities along the border as well as the entire national economy.
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