SCOTTSDALE, AZ (3TV / CBS 5 / AP) – Kirk Nicodemus and wife Monica have been boutique tours of Scottsdale for eight years. But the joyrides screeched to a halt in 2020 when the COVID-19 shutdowns halted travel. “It was very, very bad,” said Kirk, owner of Joy Rides AZ. “I would say we lost about 50-85% in business.” Arizona companies hope to see more customers next month if US border restrictions are lifted. (Source: 3TV / CBS 5) Kirk says business has slowly recovered, but more than a quarter of his clientele are travelers from Canada and Mexico. He believes his tours will return to pre-pandemic times when the borders reopen in November. “Not only with us, the restaurants, the retailers, the hotels, I just think that it will be really, really wonderful to feel this good atmosphere in our city,” he said. The US will reopen its land borders for non-essential travel next month and end a 19-month lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the country obliges all international visitors to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. According to Danny Seidin, CEO and president of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, people traveling from Mexico spent $ 6.9 million in retail each day in 2019. In addition, the timing of the reopening is ideal. “Almost all of Mexico has a month off for school in December, so it’s always a big month to travel for them. So it’s just in time to start vacation travel,” he said. The Arizona Department of Tourism says, that people traveling from Mexico and Canada spent $ 2.3 billion in 2019 and expects tourism numbers to resume by the end of 2022 License plates have been hit hard by travel restrictions. In Nogales, Arizona, travel restrictions forced about 40 retail stores to close on the city’s main drag, said Jessy Fontes, a board member of the Nogales-Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce and owner of the Mariposa Liquidation Store, which sells home appliances. His sales fell 60% and he considered closing, but instead reduced his employees from seven to two. Copyright 2021 KPHO / KTVK (KPHO Rundfunkgesellschaft). All rights reserved.
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