The city’s warm, dry climate ensures that swimming, fishing, jet boating, water-skiing and other watersports along the miles of public shoreline are a year-round possibility.

Likewise, it has led to the growth of outdoor activities such as tennis, golf, hiking, rock climbing and mountain biking in the area, as well as jeep tours in the nearby Sonoran Desert and Mojave or Chemehuevi Mountains.

Good news travels fast! Several of the city’s longtime annual events draw international audiences. La Fiesta de los Vaqueros is recognized as the largest outdoor mid-winter rodeo in America, and the Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase of Tucson (aka The Tucson Gem Show) is eagerly anticipated by thousands of rock hounds, jewelers and others who buy, sell and exhibit at the largest event of its kind in the world. Another local favorite, the Tucson International Mariachi Conference, attracts devoted students and fans of this lively musical genre.

Sports spectators will find outdoor games and exhibitions all year. Tucson is the only city in the nation to host three Major League Baseball spring training teams: the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, and Colorado Rockies. (And Tucson hosts prestigious golf tournaments such as the PGA Chrysler Classic which draws enthusiastic crowds every year.) Thousands of cyclists from around the world ride in the annual El Tour de Tucson cycling event, featuring a 109-mile perimeter race.

Major Airline service is available into both Tucson and Phoenix. Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport (PHX) is 3 mi/5 km southeast of downtown; The Tucson International Airport (TUS) is located approximately 10 miles from the center of town. Transportation options include rental cars, shared ride vans, taxis, hotel shuttles and the city bus. Many regional and commuter airlines offer daily scheduled service from Phoenix to smaller Arizona communities such as the Grand Canyon and Sedona. Major rental car companies maintain branches at both the Phoenix and Tucson airports.

Amtrak provides service to Arizona along two routes: The northern part of the state (including Winslow, Flagstaff, Williams Junction and Kingman) is visited by the Amtrak line that runs between Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California. The southern part of the state (including Benson, Tucson, Maricopa and Yuma) is served by the line that runs between Orlando, Florida, and Los Angeles (the Texas Eagle, out of Chicago, follows the same route across Arizona on its way to Los Angeles). Greyhound provides bus service between towns in Arizona and to points outside the state.

Airports
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
Tucson International Airport
Williams Gateway Airport
Prescott Municipal Airport
Flagstaff Pulliam Airport
Sedona Airport

Trains and Buses
Amtrak
Greyhound

Car Rental Companies
National
Hertz
Enterprise
Dollar
Budget
Avis
Alamo
Arizona Stagecoach - Tucson Airport Door to Door Service

Arizona Department of Transportation
Arizona DOT

The 2004 total gross state product was USD 187.27 billion. If Arizona were an independent country, it would have the 61st largest economy in the world (CIA - The World Factbook). This figure gives Arizona a larger economy than most other countries, including Norway, Denmark, Czech Republic, Ireland, Finland, and New Zealand. Arizona currently has the 21st largest economy among states in the U.S..

The state’s per capita income is USD 27,232, 39th in the U.S. Early in its history, Arizona’s economy relied on the “Five C’s”: copper, cotton, cattle, citrus, and climate (tourism). At one point Arizona was the largest producer of cotton in the country. Copper is still extensively mined from many expansive open-pit and underground mines.

The state government is the Arizona’s largest employer, while Wal-Mart is the state’s largest private employer, with 17,343 employees (2003). Arizona lost much of its comparative advantage as a high-tech industry leader between 1990 and 2001, according to a state Department of Commerce report.

In 2001, 161,166 Arizonans were employed in the high-tech sector, accounting for about 8.3 percent of total private-sector employment of more than 1.9 million. High-tech payroll in 2001 was USD 2.2 billion, or 14.7 percent of the private-sector total. High-tech employment was led by software and computers, with 34,314; electronics components manufacturing, 30,358; aerospace manufacturing, 25,641; architectural and engineering services, 21,378; telecommunications, 21,224; and instruments manufacturing, 13,056.

Arizona : Ajo

Ajo (pronounced “ah-ho”) proudly calls itself “Arizona’s Hometown” located about two hours away from either Phoenix or Tucson. “Ajo” means garlic in Spanish, most historians believe the town derived its name from a Tohono O’odham word meaning “place of colored clay.” Today, the town is a popular tourist destination and jumping-off point for attractions in the vicinity. The town is centered around a Spanish Colonial-style plaza, topped with a red-tiled roof, and garnished with palm trees and bench-lined walkways. Visitors will find a number of intriguing shops and restaurants under the plaza’s covered arcade. Today you will find the town is a prefect retirement spot. As for the name of the town, it is hard to pinpoint. Some say it is from the Spanish word garlic, which Mexican miners found in the area. Others say it came from the Papago Indian word for paint, because this was the area the Indians collected copper minerals to make the paint for their bodies.