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.
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