Visit Albuquerque prohibits users from downloading images from our website.
Please use our media library for downloadable images and usage rights.As we close out another calendar year and reflect on the success of 2019, we are reminded of what a bright spot tourism is for this city. The travel and tourism industry continues to grow and proves to be one of Albuquerque’s most effective economic development strategies.
In fact, tourism generates over $2 billion annually, and today the industry employs over 44,000 people in Albuquerque – the highest employment ever for the industry.
We would not be able to celebrate such incredible numbers without industry partners like you. We are proud to be a part of the charge to welcome and increase the number of visitors to this city and help fuel this vital economic engine for the Albuquerque area.
We recently held our quarterly meeting and holiday party, and were happy to see so many of you in person, update you on the industry's recent successes and bring so many industry professionals together.
We entered 2019 with new developments and new goals, and we are thrilled to be saying farewell to the year with those goals accomplished, and new initiatives on the horizon for this new decade.
We hope you are having a wonderful holiday season and can’t wait to ring in the new year alongside so many strong partners and industry leaders.
As always, thank you for your continued partnership.
Tania Armenta
President & CEO
Visit Albuquerque
Learn how to take advantage of your partnership with Visit Albuquerque by attending our upcoming Partner Orientation! We'll review the many benefits and exclusive services that are part of your partnership, including how to craft a listing on our website that will catch the attention of visitors and help attract more customers to your business. You'll also meet our Partner Development team and be able to network with other Visit Albuquerque Partners. The Orientation is an excellent tool for new Partners and a great refresher for long-time Partners. Although complimentary, you must register in advance as space is limited. Please call 505-222-4307 or email PartnerServices@VisitABQ.org.
The next orientation will be held:
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Visit Albuquerque Office
20 First Plaza NW, Suite 601
9:30 am - 11:00 am
We invite you to join us at an upcoming ACE class. ACE explores things to see and do in the Albuquerque area as well as tips on how to enrich your customer service skills. This is an excellent class for all positions in your organization. Each student will receive a complimentary Experience Pass that allows them and a guest to enjoy over 20 destinations in the Albuquerque area – a value of over $800. The cost to attend the class is $25 per student. To register call Trish Hathoot at 505-908-8178 or email TKHTrainingABQ@gmail.com.
The next ACE opportunity is:
Thursday, January 23, 2020
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Anderson Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum
West Meeting Room/Upstairs
9201 Balloon Museum Dr. NE
Registration Begins: 8:45 am/Class Begins: 9:00 am
A continental breakfast will be provided with water and coffee. Everyone in attendance is welcome to tour the facility after the class.
Last week, we held our December Quarterly Meeting and Holiday Party at Isleta Resort and Casino, celebrating another strong year of marketing Albuquerque as a visitor, convention and sports destination. Reflecting on the past year and looking toward the future, we were thrilled to celebrate the season with so many partners at the city’s largest gathering of tourism industry professionals.
The meeting program included an address from New Mexico Tourism Department Cabinet Secretary Jen Paul Schroer, along with Visit ABQ leadership touting the overall success of the travel and tourism industry in Albuquerque and its role as a vital economic engine for the city.
A fun addition to this year's program was the debut episode of "Carpool Albuquerque," a video series that Visit Albuquerque Board Chair Cainan Harris is spearheading during his year as Chair. Check out the first edition of the series here.
As reported by Visit Albuquerque leadership during the program, as one of Albuquerque’s largest private industries, tourism:
The program also reported increases in hotel performance, lodgers’ tax collections and increases in total room nights and estimated direct spend for business occuring. Occupancy and Average Daily Rate (ADR) for hotels have seen consistent increases: through October 2019, hotel occupancy is up 5% calendar-year-to-date and Average Daily Rate is up 5%. Albuquerque’s occupancy rate of 70.1% for the same time period, exceeds that of the U.S. as well as our competitive set. Fiscal Year 19 ended with a 10.8% increase in Lodgers’ Tax including new AirBnB collections, which began in November 2017. Without AirBnB collections, Lodgers’ Tax was still up 8.9%!
The entire team at Visit Albuquerque congratulates Denise Suttle on her well-deserved retirement from the organization, after 28 incredible years. The work Denise has done and the impact she has made on Visit Albuquerque, both directly and indirectly, are greatly appreciated and have helped the city truly thrive in this competitive industry.
To say Denise will be missed around the office and in the industry is an understatement, but the inspiration and knowledge she has shared will stay with all of us here at Visit Albuquerque. We know that if Denise puts in half as much effort into enjoying her retirement as she did working with Visit Albuquerque, it is sure to be a success!
Please join us in congratulating Denise on her retirement and bidding farewell to such a valued member of our team.
Albuquerque has made it past the nomination round and is officially included in the Travel + Leisure 2020 World’s Best Awards survey! In addition to the city being nominated, Hotel Chaco and Hyatt Tamaya have also been nominated within the hotel category.
The 2020 survey is open at tlworldsbest.com until March 2, 2020. Please take the time to complete the simple survey, and rate Albuquerque and the nominated Albuquerque hotels.
We also encourage you to promote the survey link on social media or anywhere else you see fit. The results will appear in the August 2020 issue of Travel + Leisure magazine and on their website.
The Smart Meetings Platinum Choice Awards honor the hospitality industry’s top-ranked hotels, venues and destinations that embody the highest standards of overall excellence. Industry professionals and Smart Meetings’ readers nominate their picks, and each nomination receives a thorough review from the Smart Meetings editorial team who selects the final honorees. We are proud to be recognized with this award!
Visit Albuquerque attended Association Forum’s Holiday Showcase on December 17 in Chicago. Kristin McGrath, Visit ABQ VP of Sales, Services and Sports; and Tabitha Stallworth, Visit ABQ Senior National Sales Manager, represented the organization at the event. Holiday Showcase attendees include Chicago-area association executives including meeting planners and executive directors.
Earlier this month Mayor Tim Keller joined Assistant U.S. Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Dr. John Fleming and other federal and local leaders in announcing $1.2 million in grant funding to redevelop the historic Rail Yards.
Funding will help create jobs by improving the streetscape to connect the Rail Yards to Downtown and surrounding neighborhoods and adding fiber to the site, which will provide any future tenants of the Rail Yards with state-of-the-art connectivity.
Whether they are visiting Albuquerque for a convention, a sports tournament or a vacation, travelers look for value and discounts. If you do not currently offer an e-coupon on the Visit Albuquerque website, please consider adding one. Discounts on attractions, activities, arts, dining, accommodations, non-group transportation and shopping will help drive customers to your business.
It’s simple. Offer a discount that will entice customers to visit your business, give us one graphic (a photo or your company logo), and we will do the rest. The only expense to you is your discount.
To be included in our 2020 coupon offers, please email your coupon information, any restrictions on its use, and a graphic to novella@visitabq.org before Dec. 30, 2019. For further information, call Novella Trujillo at 505-222-4307.
Specifications:
Here at Visit Albuquerque, we’re always developing new marketing initiatives and we want to talk about you! With the new year just around the corner, we’re collecting as much information as possible so we can share what’s new in Albuquerque heading into 2020.
Do you have an upcoming anniversary? Did you just remodel? New name? New tour? New feature? New photos or videos? New concept? New specialty dish? Have you moved, or are you about to? Grand opening? Send anything and everything to Media@VisitABQ.org.
Check out VisitABQ.org/GoodNews for this season's biggest stories about ABQ.
» The Best Places Around The World to Travel in December - Thrillist
» Top Destinations for a Holiday Getaway - Great Day Houston
» New Mexico is the Best Place in the US for a Winter Road Trip - Matador Network
» The Everygirl’s Weekend City Guide to Albuquerque, New Mexico - The Everygirl
» New Mexico: Visiting the Land of Enchantment - FWT Magazine
Kudos to Hyatt Regency Tamaya on the recently completed $3 million renovation to its dining area!
Albuquerque Business First has announced its 2019 Deals of the Year winners. We extend a big congratulations to our Partners honored this year:
Congratulations to all of the winners!
Congratulations to the ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden River of Lights on being named one of USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice 2019 Botanical Garden Holiday Lights! See the full list here.
Congratulations to Hotel Chaco, Inn of the Mountain Gods, Isleta Resort & Casino, and Sandia Resort & Casino on winning 2019 Smart Meetings Platinum Choice Awards! The awards honor the hospitality industry’s top-ranked hotels, venues and destinations that embody the highest standards of overall excellence.
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