Photos: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ci7likr5ab2ibcc384oxp/AErGcwH8XnkFa_BxJn4PEhE?rlkey=qgs07pa6s4ywukhfikwycbt10&st=aa9jnx31&dl=0
FY26 Report to Stakeholders: https://www.visitabq.org/fy26-report-to-stakeholders
2026 Year in Review video: https://youtu.be/Wz_hhN2vGOo
Driving Success on the Road Ahead video: https://youtu.be/OHVsUa45njI
Community Brand video: https://youtu.be/W1ma91eV_uE

Media Contact: 
Brenna Moore/Visit Albuquerque
Office: (505) 222-4349
Moore@VisitABQ.org

Visit Albuquerque Celebrates FY26 Results and Charts the Road Ahead at 2026 Annual Meeting

“Driving Success on the Road Ahead” theme connects Route 66 Centennial momentum with five strategic priorities for Albuquerque’s continued growth

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – (Sept. 24, 2026) – Visit Albuquerque hosted and supported 210 meetings, conventions and sports events during fiscal year 2026, welcoming more than 295,000 attendees and generating approximately 163,000 hotel room nights and $83 million in estimated direct spending. Travel and tourism, one of Albuquerque’s largest private industries, brought 11.9 million overnight and day visitors to the city last year, generating $2.8 billion in visitor spending and supporting more than 45,000 jobs.

Those were among the results presented Tuesday during Visit Albuquerque’s 2026 Annual Meeting at the Albuquerque Convention Center, where President & CEO Tania Armenta, outgoing Board Chair Ben Abruzzo and incoming Board Chair Mindy Jensen welcomed more than 500 hospitality and tourism professionals, organization partners, elected officials and community leaders. The meeting celebrated the organization’s fiscal year 2026 accomplishments and outlined the priorities that will guide its work in the year ahead.

“The travel and tourism industry is one of Albuquerque’s most effective economic development strategies,” said Armenta. “Visitor spending supports businesses and jobs throughout our community, but tourism’s impact reaches far beyond the numbers. It helps us preserve and share our culture, enhances quality of life for residents and strengthens Albuquerque as a place to visit, live, work and invest.”

Visit Albuquerque highlighted accomplishments from across its leisure marketing, meetings, conventions and sports tourism sales, media relations, travel trade, visitor services and community engagement programs. Results were featured in a Year in Review video and detailed in the organization’s FY26 Report to Stakeholders. Highlights included:

  • Visit Albuquerque and its partners hosted and supported 210 meetings, conventions and sports events, welcoming more than 295,000 attendees, generating approximately 163,000 hotel room nights and contributing $83 million in estimated direct spending.
  • The Sales team and the Albuquerque Sports Commission booked 217 future events, representing an estimated $87 million in future direct spending.
  • Marketing campaigns influenced 322,000 trips from key markets and $143 million in direct visitor spending, resulting in a $29-to-$1 return on ad spend.
  • Media relations efforts secured 480 stories, generating 4.6 billion earned impressions and $44 million in estimated publicity value.
  • Travel trade initiatives expanded Albuquerque’s presence in domestic and international itineraries. Among operators serving Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as the United Kingdom and Ireland, Albuquerque overnights offered grew 38%.
  • The Destination Development and Community Engagement team supported 636 partners, trained more than 230 hospitality partners through the ACE program and assisted 89,000 travelers at the city’s Visitor Information Centers.
  • Through the Albuquerque Tourism Marketing District-supported Tourism Grant Program, $500,000 was awarded to 31 tourism projects and five signature events designed to add to Albuquerque’s vibrancy and create memorable experiences for visitors and residents.

The Route 66 Centennial was a major focus throughout the year, giving Albuquerque an opportunity to share its history, culture and contemporary creativity with travelers around the world. Visit Albuquerque’s two-year campaign positioned the city as one of the country’s most distinctive places to experience the Mother Road and included:

  • Expanded content on Route66ABQ.com, including history, trip-planning resources, itineraries, events and in-depth stories reflecting the Route 66 experiences of Albuquerque’s diverse cultures.
  • Advertising, media relations, social media, travel trade outreach and partnerships designed to generate awareness of Albuquerque’s 18-mile stretch of Route 66 and inspire travel during the centennial year.
  • Promotion of new visitor experiences, including Route 66 Remixed, an 18-mile open-air public art project featuring 19 installations by 20 local artists, and the Route 66 Crossroads Information Station at the only place where the Mother Road crosses itself.
  • Collaboration with local businesses to elevate limited-edition products and experiences created for the centennial, including Rio Bravo Brewing Company’s ‘Route’ beer, Gruet Winery’s Brut 66 and Sheehan Winery’s Neon Road.
  • Media relations efforts that generated 95 articles, more than 1.8 billion impressions and over $13 million in estimated publicity value.

Looking ahead, Visit Albuquerque identified five strategic priorities for fiscal year 2027:

  • Strengthen Albuquerque’s brand through a community brand initiative that reflects the city’s shared identity and differentiates Albuquerque as a place to visit, live, work and invest.
  • Expand leisure travel marketing in key regional drive and fly markets, while continuing to leverage the lasting assets and visibility created by the Route 66 Centennial.
  • Grow meetings, conventions and sports by building on Albuquerque’s affordability, accessibility, local expertise and community support.
  • Enhance the visitor experience through expanded services and digital resources, hospitality workforce education and community partnerships.
  • Renew the Albuquerque Tourism Marketing District, which has provided dedicated funding for destination advertising, marketing and visitor services since 2022.

The meeting also included an update from Tyler Othen of Convention, Sports and Leisure International (CSL) on the Downtown Albuquerque & Visitor Economy Catalytic Project Feasibility Study, one of the initiatives under the organization’s strategic priority to grow meetings, conventions, sports and overall tourism. Commissioned by Visit Albuquerque, the study will evaluate opportunities to enhance Downtown vibrancy, improve the visitor experience and increase overnight visitation by identifying transformative projects in Downtown that can help attract more citywide meetings and leisure travelers. Attendees were invited to provide input through a polling question as the study moves toward completion.

“The road ahead holds tremendous opportunity, and our priorities give us a clear direction for turning that opportunity into measurable results,” said Jensen, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Legacy Development & Management and incoming Chair of the Visit Albuquerque Board of Directors. “That work will require continued collaboration among our hospitality community, local businesses, civic leaders and residents, because the visitor experience belongs to all of us.”

The meeting also recognized four outgoing members of the Visit Albuquerque Board of Directors for their leadership and service:

  • Deepesh Kholwadwala, Owner, President and CEO of Sun Capital Hotels, who joined the Board in 2020 and served as Chair in fiscal year 2023
  • Damen Kompanowski, General Manager of Sheraton Albuquerque Uptown, who first joined the Board in 2011 and served as Chair in fiscal year 2017
  • Christine Lechner, Director of Meetings & Conferences for the American Society of Radiologic Technologists, who served in a General Business seat since 2020
  • William R. Stafford, Co-owner of Sadie’s of New Mexico, who served in a Non-Lodging Hospitality seat since 2020

Visit Albuquerque’s business partners also elected four nominees to fill open seats on the organization’s Board of Directors:

  • Casey Kittel, General Manager of Embassy Suites Albuquerque - Hospitality/Lodging with 15,000 Square Feet of Meeting Space
  • Dhawal Kholwadwala, President of 505 Hospitality - Hospitality/Lodging
  • Mark Herman, CEO of Dion’s and Tula’s Kitchen - Hospitality/Non-Lodging
  • Prakash Sundaram, President and CEO of Total Management Systems Inc. - General Business

The program recognized Meeting and Event Heroes whose advocacy, professional connections and local leadership helped bring significant events to Albuquerque or contributed to their success. Honorees included:

  • Joe Hastings and Kristin Leigh - Association of Children’s Museums InterActivity 2025 (1,000 attendees; $1.1 million in estimated direct spend)
  • Patricia Dickinson - Regional Dance America 2026 Southwest Festival (750 attendees; $580,000 in estimated direct spend)
  • Manuel Garcia - National Horseshoe Pitchers Association 2026 U.S. Open (350 attendees; $150,000 in estimated direct spend)
  • Justin Hawkinson - 2026 USA BMX Spring Nationals (2,000 attendees; $845,000 in estimated direct spend)
  • Christine Lechner - American Society of Radiologic Technologists 2026 Educational Symposium and Annual Governance and House of Delegates Meeting (700 attendees; $1.2 million in estimated direct spend)
  • Lt. Gov. Howie Morales - Aerospace States Association 2026 Annual Meeting (60 attendees; $58,000 in estimated direct spend)
  • Darrell Ertzberger - American Philatelic Society 2027 Convention and Show (2,500 attendees; $860,000 in estimated direct spend)
  • James Ferguson - International Association of Gay Square Dance Clubs 2027 Convention (1,000 attendees; $1.3 million in estimated direct spend)
  • Harpo Faust - American Society of Plant Biologists 2027 Annual Meeting (950 attendees; $1.4 million in estimated direct spend)
  • Dr. James P. Carney, Anna Case and Enrico Quintana - American Society for Nondestructive Testing 2027 Annual Conference (2,000 attendees; $2.5 million in estimated direct spend)

The meeting marked the conclusion of Abruzzo’s two years as Board Chair and recognized his leadership and his family’s multigenerational impact on Albuquerque. Abruzzo is President of Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2026.

“We know the direction, we have strong partners and we have every reason to believe in what Albuquerque can become,” said Abruzzo. “Together, we can keep driving success on the road ahead.”

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.

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