Media Contact:

Brenna Moore/Visit Albuquerque

Office: (505) 222-4349

Moore@VisitABQ.org

Visit Albuquerque Announces 2024 Small Business Holiday Gift Guide

Guide encourages shopping local and includes gift recommendations from more than 100 Albuquerque businesses

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – (Dec. 5, 2024) – Visit Albuquerque, the city’s official destination marketing organization (DMO), has launched the 2024 Albuquerque Small Business Holiday Gift Guide — designed to support small businesses throughout the city by encouraging residents to shop local this holiday season.

“This guide includes a variety of incredible products and experiences, many of which can only be found in Albuquerque,” said Tania Armenta, President & CEO of Visit Albuquerque. “We encourage residents to double the impact of their gift-giving this holiday season by discovering one-of-a-kind treasures for everyone on their list while simultaneously strengthening our small business community.”

The guide includes 20 categories of gift ideas and inspiration from more than 100 local businesses, highlighting partners of Visit Albuquerque and other local businesses. The organization also plans to update the guide as additional offerings become available. In addition to the gift guide, Visit Albuquerque will frequently post on its @VisitABQ and @ABQ365 social media channels throughout the holiday season to further encourage shopping local.

Each of the 20 categories – such as “Gifts for Hot Air Ballooning Enthusiasts” and “Gifts for Faraway Friends Who are Homesick for New Mexico” – are listed under nine overarching themes:

The guide also includes a section highlighting Albuquerque holiday shopping experiences, such as the Holiday Market at the ABQ Rail Yards, the Nob Hill Shop & Stroll, the Old Town Holiday Stroll and new events such as the Upside Holiday Market. For a more convenient shopping experience, the City of Albuquerque is offering free two-hour parking at City-owned parking lots in Old Town and at meters along Central Avenue in Downtown and Nob Hill through Jan. 2, 2025.

Residents are also encouraged to participate in the new Visit Albuquerque “Shop Local, Get Local” initiative. Shoppers who spend $100 or more at a local small retailer between Dec. 1 and Dec. 24, 2024, qualify to receive a $10 gift card to an Albuquerque business. To claim the gift card, participants must bring their receipt(s) to Visit Albuquerque’s Old Town Visitors Center at 522 Romero St. N.W. between Monday, Dec. 9, and Christmas Eve, Dec. 24. Gift cards are limited to the first 100 participants. According to New Mexico’s Taxation & Revenue department, in order for a business to qualify as local and small, it must maintain its primary place of business in Albuquerque and employ no more than 10 employees at any point during the year. Businesses that operate under a franchise agreement do not qualify.

According to the City of Albuquerque, the city is home to more than 40,000 small businesses. For every $100 spent at a local business, about $68 will stay in the community.

“Buying local keeps more money in the community and supports local jobs and the businesses that make our city shine,” Armenta said.

About Visit Albuquerque

Visit Albuquerque is an accredited destination marketing organization (DMO), and a private, not-for-profit organization [501(c)(6)]. The mission of Visit Albuquerque is to stimulate economic growth by marketing Albuquerque as a convention, sports and visitor destination. For more information, go to www.VisitABQ.org.

 

###