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Route 66
Development and Diversification of New Products
Declare And Enhance Route 66 As the Ultimate Experience
| Strategy 1: Spearhead a task force with partners such as University of New Mexico and the City on Route 66 to position it as a destination and advocate for enhancement and improvement initiatives. | ||||
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Update: Visit Albuquerque helped conceive and consulted on the City of Albuquerque’s Route 66 Centennial committee, which meets monthly to plan, promote and discuss Route 66-oriented initiatives in the city. Visit Albuquerque maintains a strong presence in the New Mexico State Tourism Department’s Route 66 Centennial Coordination Meetings to connect with other destinations on the Route and effectively collaborate with the State to position Albuquerque as a key Route 66 highlight. In 2025, Visit Albuquerque hosted and represented the city at the Federal Route 66 Commission’s kickoff meeting at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Our resident Route 66 Marketing Specialist, Madison Garay, participates in the New Mexico Route 66 Association and various local organizations to connect local stakeholders to the broader centennial project. Furthermore, Madison develops the official Albuquerque Route 66 Centennial e-mail newsletter, the Roadrunner, to share updates, fun facts, events and imagery of the route to potential visitors. We are present at many Route 66 Centennial meetings held in New Mexico, the nation and beyond. Route 66 is at the forefront of Visit Albuquerque’s international travel trade initiatives, with extensive promotion at major industry events such as IPW to connect international buyers to our New Mexico market. Visit Albuquerque and NMTD continue to host tailored familiarization tours for journalists and travel writers interested in Route 66, road trips and heritage tourism. |
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| Strategy 2: Work with partners to support and advocate for the tourism case for necessary improvements to infrastructure along Route 66, including road maintenance, directional signage and historical markers. | ||||
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Update: Visit Albuquerque attends the Old Town Albuquerque Association’s Route 66 meetings to support Old Town’s initiatives to highlight the historic plaza as a key Route 66 destination. Preservation and wayfinding initiatives in Old Town have been supported through Visit Albuquerque’s tourism grants, notably the Old Town Archway, which was repaired and revitalized with neon in October 2025. Visit Albuquerque recognizes the Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan as an important step in transforming the Downtown core along Route 66 with wayfinding signage and stimulating business activity in vacant properties. Some major projects, such as the ARRIVE Albuquerque hotel and the John Gaw Meem-built Maisel’s Trading Post, have been supported by Visit Albuquerque’s marketing efforts and the latter, supported with a tourism grant. Throughout Central Avenue, rehabilitated Route 66 motels and service stations are highlighted, celebrated and encouraged through Visit Albuquerque’s campaigns. |
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| Strategy 3: Collaborate with local artists to create large-scale murals and public art installations that depict the history and culture of Route 66. | ||||
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| Update: In October 2025, the City of Albuquerque unveiled Route 66 Remixed, a public arts and augmented reality project realized by local artists, Meow Wolf and Refract Studios. Visit Albuquerque has been a central stakeholder in Route 66 Remixed from the project’s inception. Remixed activates the historic route through hyperlocal perspectives, storytelling and time-warping technology. Furthermore, Visit Albuquerque continues to support The Friends of the Orphan Signs, an artist cooperative focusing on the preservation and artistic reimagination of midcentury signs on and around Route 66, through the tourism grant program. | ||||
| Strategy 4: Work with local businesses to create exclusive Route 66-themed products and experiences. | ||||
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Update: The City of Albuquerque developed co-branded materials with input from Visit Albuquerque and with local design studio, Ripe Inc. This branding encompasses the Route 66 microsite, limited edition gear and partner merchandise. Some local partners, such as Duran’s Pharmacy, have begun using the co-branded centennial logo for their own promotions. Tourism grants have supported Artemis Promotions (New Mexico Route 66 Fest), Kustom Hoppers (for an immersive lowrider storytelling initiative) and the Wheels Museum (for Southwest Transportation Festival) on automobile-oriented experiences to enhance Route 66 as a destination. Visit Albuquerque continues to develop industry events for the citywide expansion of the Route 66 Centennial. Route 66 education sessions and Route 66-themed ACE training courses designed for frontline staff provide background, rationale and tips to hospitality professionals to support the Route 66 Centennial. Visit Albuquerque is currently developing special vending machines, which will encourage visitors on Route 66 to share their experiences directly with us in exchange for centennial swag. |
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| Strategy 5: Work with event organizers to support events and festivals that celebrate the spirit of Route 66, such as car shows, live music performances and vintage fairs. | ||||
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Update: Through the Tourism Grant Program, Visit Albuquerque has supported and promoted the following Route 66-related events: Rhythm and Roots on Route 66, Modish Market, NM Route 66 “Mother Road” Mini Marathon, a Route 66 Music Series at M’tucci’s Bar Roma, Atomic 66, Wheels Museum’s Southwest Transportation Festival, New Mexico Route 66 Fest and Corazon de Route 66. The New Mexico Tourism Department has generously supported signature events on and related to Albuquerque’s Route 66 through their Centennial Grant Program, including: Route 66 Summerfest, Gathering of Nations, Get Your PICKS on Route 66 and the New Mexico State Fair. Visit Albuquerque promotes and encourages new signature Route 66 events, such as the Village of Los Ranchos’ Globito Glow in the Village, which launched in October 2025 in conjunction with the Exxon Mobil Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta® to activate the pre-1937 Route 66 alignment in Albuquerque. Visit Albuquerque is a partner on the critically-acclaimed music television series Bands of Enchantment, which streams on Tubi, Prime Video, Roku Channel and All Arts. In September 2025, Bands of Enchantment hosted their first outdoor music festival on Route 66, near the historic KiMo Theatre in Downtown. In 2026, the music festival will expand into a multi-day event on Route 66. |
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Collaborate with UNM and National Route 66 Research Center
| Strategy 1: Establish a partnership with UNM and the Route 66 National Research Center to develop a joint marketing campaign promoting the significance of Route 66. | ||||
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| Update: Visit Albuquerque has maintained professional relationships and collaboration with local cultural institutions such as the UNM Center for Southwest Research and the Albuquerque Museum for use of Route 66 archival imagery. Visit Albuquerque attends public meetings hosted by the New Mexico Route 66 Association to involve regional enthusiasts in the centennial campaign. | ||||
| Strategy 2: Explore opportunities for joint branding initiatives, such as co-branded merchandise and promotional materials. | ||||
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| Update: Visit Albuquerque joined travel magazine Atlas Obscura and Miles Partnership’s Odyssey Studios in a national Route 66 mini-series to be hosted on Atlas Obscura’s website. Visit Albuquerque coordinated the film shoot with Odyssey and our Route 66 Marketing Specialist was on location with the crew as a local guide on and off-screen. | ||||
| Strategy 3: Consider collaborating with the Graduate hotel chain, known for its association with universities, to establish a hotel concept that celebrates Route 66's history and complements the research center. | ||||
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Create Immersive Experiences and Itineraries for Elevating the Profile of Route 66
| Strategy 1: Collaborate with UNM, the National Route 66 Research Center and other relevant partners to develop themed itineraries highlighting unique attributes of Route 66, such as the experience of movement to the ‘west’, historic diners and motels, old movies, regional cuisine and car culture. | ||||
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Update: The Route 66 microsite has a diverse array of self-guided itineraries, from outdoor adventures near the route to historic local diners to eat at in Albuquerque. Visit Albuquerque provided a curated Albuquerque itinerary for New Mexico Magazine’s Route 66 Visit Widget mobile app, which launched in July 2025. Informational collateral from various community engagement initiatives in the form of single page information sheets and rack cards continues to be updated and distributed at industry events as we enter 2026. Visit Albuquerque’s social media campaigns for the Route 66 Centennial includes short form video content, a long form neon mini-documentary and round-up posts for signature Route 66 experiences. Route 66 Remixed serves as an interactive “art-fueled” itinerary for visitors and locals alike to engage with the historical facets of Route 66 with contemporary perspectives. Visit Albuquerque supported TourABQ’s Route 66 Centennial trolley tours (including a speakeasy-themed experience) through the 2024 Tourism Grant Program. |
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| Strategy 2: Partner with private companies, the film industry and technology experts to advocate for creating immersive VR and AR experiences that bring Route 66's history to life. | ||||
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| Update: Visit Albuquerque promoted the City of Albuquerque’s Augmented Reality experience, Route 66 Remixed, in conjunction with Meow Wolf and Refract Studios. Meow Wolf also partnered with our hotel partner, Hotel Zazz, on a portal experience situated in a historic Route 66 motel. Our staff Route 66 specialist consulted on Ideum’s interactive postcard experience, to be installed at the West Central Route 66 Visitor Center in 2026. Visit Albuquerque continues promoting film tourism in the city, wherein many famed productions filmed scenes right on Route 66. | ||||
| Strategy 3: Establish partnerships with local attractions, museums and cultural institutions to offer discounted or bundled experiences that encourage visitors to explore Route 66 fully. | ||||
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Update: Through the Route 66 Education Session, Visit Albuquerque encouraged local businesses to offer discounts and special experiences for the Route 66 Centennial. The centennial branding developed with the City of Albuquerque has been disseminated to partners for use in their themed initiatives. In November 2024, Flyby Provisions and TourABQ joined forces to develop the Nightbird Trolley Experience, where attendees would be shuttled between Downtown and Old Town with stops at local vendors in a cross-district artisan market and nightlife experience. This project was supported by Visit Albuquerque’s tourism grants program. In October 2025, New Mexico Magazine offered 1-year print subscriptions at half price for 2026, the centennial year, including a limited edition Route 66 tote bag featuring motifs from destinations along the route in New Mexico. |
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| Strategy 4: Collaborate with travel agencies and tour operators to include Route 66 as a featured itinerary in their offerings. | ||||
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Update: Visit Albuquerque engages regional, national and international audiences through close collaborations with tour operators and travel trade programs. Working closely with Brand USA, Visit Albuquerque’s Route 66 initiatives have touched broad audiences overseas in the Great USA Road Trip European Sales Mission in March 2025. Familiarization tours organized in partnership with the New Mexico Tourism Department bring writers from diverse backgrounds to Albuquerque’s Route 66. A recent result of these partnerships and exposure of Albuquerque to the European travel trade market was Brand USA's Europe and UK MegaFam, which brought top-selling agents from Europe on 11 different itineraries to experience various regions in the US. The Southwest itinerary brought eight key German sales agents to Albuquerque in May 2025 for an introduction to the city, with a focus on Route 66 activities ahead of the centennial in 2026. 2024 Brand USA Travel Week - Visit Albuquerque’s Director of Communications & Public Relations Brenna Moore joined the New Mexico Tourism Department (NMTD) for the 2024 Brand USA Travel Week, held in London from Oct. 21-24. As part of the event, NMTD and Visit Albuquerque conducted appointments with over 40 international tour operators interested in selling bookable travel products that include Albuquerque and New Mexico. Our participation in this event occurred during a time in which we are continuing to build a sustainable travel trade program for Albuquerque, with an added focus on the upcoming Route 66 Centennial in 2026. 2024 National Tourism Association - Visit Albuquerque’s Director of Communications & Public Relations Brenna Moore and Group Tour Sales & Services Manager Nikki Baca attended the National Tour Association (NTA) Travel Exchange, held in Huntsville, Alabama from Nov. 17-20. NTA’s annual conference features buyers of all types and specialties who meet with tour suppliers, DMOs, DMCs, and receptive operators to build partnerships, collaborations, and creative itineraries. Visit Albuquerque conducted more than 20 appointments with group tour suppliers, building awareness of the destination and our partners, particularly ahead of the Route 66 centennial. Our booth featured virtual reality balloon rides in partnership with AIRscape. As part of the conference, NTA announced Albuquerque as the host destination for the 2028 Travel Exchange, to be held at the Albuquerque Convention Center from Nov. 8-15, 2028. Brand USA's Great USA Road Trip Sales Mission - Visit Albuquerque's Director of Communications & Public Relations Brenna Moore joined Brand USA in March 2025 for the first-of-its-kind effort to promote American road trips in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the iconic Route 66 road trip in 2026. Attending partners met with 50 product managers, over 250 travel agents and nearly 70 members of the media in Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Germany, resulting in over 1,000 one-on-one trade appointments. IPW 2025 - Visit Albuquerque’s President & CEO Tania Armenta, Director of Communications & Public Relations Brenna Moore, Director of Marketing Rachel Cromer Howard and National Sales Manager Nikki Baca attended the U.S. Travel Association’s IPW 2025, held June 14-18 in Chicago. This year’s event featured a brand-new, cohesively designed booth thanks to investment from the New Mexico Tourism Department, and the state’s presence included representation from NMTD, TOURISM Santa Fe, Visit Las Cruces, and partners from Rainbow Ryders Hot Air Balloon Ride Co., the Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway, Heritage Inspirations, Visit Gallup and more. During the three-day tradeshow, Visit Albuquerque met with over 60 media members and travel buyers representing markets across the world. New Mexico’s level of participation at this year’s event marks the elevated commitment to the travel trade market for Albuquerque and the state, particularly ahead of the Route 66 Centennial in 2026. |
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Enhance Route 66 as the ‘Key to the West’ to Garner Investment
| Strategy 1: Conduct targeted marketing campaigns to raise awareness among potential investors about the cultural and economic opportunities associated with Route 66 and its car culture. These targeted campaigns should include more niche market segments that currently are not a big focus of Visit Albuquerque, such as car enthusiasts, and history buffs. | ||||
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Update: Visit Albuquerque created an expansive paid advertising campaign with McKee Wallwork to promote Route 66 tourism in the city. Two commercials filmed with production studio Inspirado, “The Kitsch of Route 66” and “The Soul of Route 66” air on streaming networks in select drive markets around the Southwest, framing Albuquerque as a culturally-rooted and distinctive Route 66 destination. Other advertising assets include targeted banner ads, audio streaming ads and paid social media. Niche target markets include family travelers, history buffs, travel enthusiasts and road trip travelers. Route 66 audience interests include arts and culture, events and entertainment, cultural and community, family travel, family entertainment, US history and road trips. Route 66 Kitsch in Albuquerque Ongoing paid social media campaigns with travel content creators generate interest in Albuquerque’s Route 66 across distinct niches, from midcentury design enthusiasts to adventurous foodies. Some examples of influencer collaboration: |
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| Strategy 2: Work with the City and potential developers and investors to highlight the benefits of investing in Route 66-related businesses, such as themed hotels, retro-style diners and vintage car rental services. | ||||
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Update: The last 5 years have brought incredible growth and development to Albuquerque’s Route 66. Revitalized historic properties, such as Hotel Zazz (opened 2022), have demonstrated the expansive visitor potential for these spaces. Since 2022, at least eight major commercial projects have been started and completed on Route 66, and the number continues to grow. We continue collaboration with local economic development organizations on major initiatives such as the Business Improvement District Area and the Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan to make Route 66 a vibrant, active visitor destination. |
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| Strategy 3: Collaborate with economic development agencies to provide incentives and support systems for investors interested in starting or expanding businesses along Route 66. | ||||
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| Update: Community engagement, promotional materials, social media campaigns and partnerships have encouraged some revitalization of Central Avenue/Route 66. | ||||
| Strategy 4: Collaborate with UNM and the National Research Center for Route 66 to curate exhibitions, interactive displays and educational programs. | ||||
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Update: Local institutions and organizations have fulfilled this strategy with support from Visit Albuquerque and the City of Albuquerque. The Mothership Alumni, on the historic crossroads of Route 66, used a Visit Albuquerque tourism grant to develop their Route 66 Centennial exhibition and block party. The Albuquerque Museum has a forthcoming exhibition, “The Other Route 66”, opening June 6, 2026. Visit Albuquerque’s Route 66 Content Specialist Madison Garay sat on a committee for Ideum’s New Mexico Music Hall of Fame interactive postcard experience for the Route 66 Visitor Center, consulting on imagery and theming of five touch-screen photobooths wherein the participant can create a unique Albuquerque Route 66 setting with drag-and-drop stickers. |
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| Strategy 5: Partner with UNM and the National Route 66 Research Center to support Visit Albuquerque's current initiative of creating a microsite dedicated to Route 66. This collaboration can bring forth valuable insights, research and resources to ensure the microsite becomes a comprehensive hub of information and engagement. Additionally, the microsite can serve as a valuable long-lasting legacy and resource of the Route 66 Centennial Celebration for those seeking in-depth information about Route 66's history, cultural importance and ongoing preservation efforts. | ||||
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| Update: Visit Albuquerque’s Route 66 Centennial microsite, a comprehensive platform dedicated to connecting visitors and locals through in-depth historical articles, community interviews, events, programming and themed itineraries, was completed in February 2025 and continues to be updated as a living document and resource. Educational and entertaining features such as the Route 66 Timeline, the Then-and-Now Photo Gallery, and Community Stories show Albuquerque’s Route 66 in a historical and contemporary view. The City of Albuquerque Arts & Culture Department, the Albuquerque Museum, UNM Center for Southwest Research, local storytellers and stakeholders contributed to the successful completion of this resource. This all-encompassing platform also encourages locals and visitors to share “their Route 66 story” through our user-generated content collector. Visit at www.route66abq.com. | ||||