By Mike Sunnucks | Rose Law Group Reporter
Arizona’s tourism industry is a $24.4 billion industry statewide with 192,000 jobs. That was before COVID-19 brought travel and tourism to an abrupt stop resulting in shuttered restaurants and businesses and record new unemployment claims.
Arizona ranks 19th among U.S. states in terms of the impact the Coronavirus is having on the tourism sector, according to finance firm WalletHub.
Hawaii, Montana and Nevada are the most impacted. Florida is 6th. New York is 9th and California has the 10th most tourism impact. The rankings are based on the share travel and tourism make up a state’s economy and consumer spending.
Arkansas, Iowa and Oklahoma have the least tourism impact from the pandemic, according to WalletHub.
The pandemic threatens as many as 5.9 million tourism related jobs nationwide, according to the U.S. Travel Association and Tourism Economics.
