Industry Insider

December 2022

News
Marketing Tips and Tricks
Partner Opportunities
Staff Spotlight
Promote & Share
Partner Kudos
Featured Partners
New & Renewing Partners
Resources

HELLO, VISIT ALBUQUERQUE PARTNERS,

As another calendar year comes to a close, it is a time to reflect on how our industry has grown and changed in the past 12 months. Albuquerque’s tourism, travel and hospitality industry benefited from increased visitor volume and visitor spending in 2022. Sincere thanks to you, our Partners, for helping Visit Albuquerque promote the destination and for welcoming visitors to our city and to your doors. A special thanks to our lodging Partners who championed the formation of the Albuquerque Tourism Marketing District. The ATMD will make a significant difference in Albuquerque’s ability to compete for travelers.

An additional thank you to all our Partners who attended the annual Visit Albuquerque Holiday Party. It was great to spend some time with all of you and celebrate the season. Thanks to your generosity, we collected over 417 pounds of nonperishable food for Roadrunner Food Bank, enough for an estimated 278 meals, as well as dozens of jackets, scarves, gloves, hats and other children's clothing for Cuidando Los Niños.

Roadrunner Foodbank Holiday Party 2022 Donations

This issue of Industry Insider includes recent priorities and efforts from Visit Albuquerque staff, upcoming meetings and conventions and a big shoutout for New Mexico as a tourist destination in a national publication.

We hope you are having a wonderful holiday season and can’t wait to ring in the new year alongside so many strong industry leaders.

Thank you for being a Visit Albuquerque Partner.

Tania Armenta
President & CEO
Visit Albuquerque

News

Marketing Campaign in Seattle Promotes Albuquerque as a Sunny Winter Getaway

While Seattle is known for rainy days and cloudy skies, Albuquerque is famous for an average of 310 days of sunshine per year. Even during the winter months, our blue skies beckon people to the outdoors for hiking, cycling, hot air ballooning, winter sports here and skiing within a short drive.

This winter, Visit Albuquerque is running ads in Seattle and its suburbs that invite people to escape the gloom by visiting our city. Billboards highlighting Albuquerque’s cultural experiences, outdoor recreation and winter events were posted on major streets and highways around Seattle in early November and will be up through the end of January. In addition, messages reminding Northwesterners about Albuquerque’s sunny skies are appearing on four-story tall vertical billboards in downtown Seattle and inside the Seattle monorail station.

The campaign, which was made possible with additional advertising funds provided by the Albuquerque Tourism Marketing District, welcomes everyone to spend part of their winter enjoying a one-of-a-kind vacation in Albuquerque. See samples of the ads here.

Submit Your 2023 Coupons Now!

It’s almost 2023, and we want to include you in our promotional efforts throughout the new year. Each year, Visit Albuquerque publishes a printed coupon booklet that is distributed throughout the year at a wide variety of events, conventions and conferences.

With this submission, your coupon will also be included on your VisitABQ.org business listing and on our highly visited coupons and deals webpage.

Including a coupon on our website and in our printed booklet is a great way to introduce your business to new visitors and drive increased business throughout 2023. There is no charge for our Partners to include a coupon.

Please fill out the form at this link no later than Dec. 27, 2022. There is no charge to include your coupon! If you have any questions, please contact Alanna Allen at Allen@VisitABQ.org or 505-222-4357.

Visit Albuquerque Travels to Connect West

Visit Albuquerque Vice President of Sales, Services and Sports Scott Craighead traveled to San Francisco for Connect West, a premier B2B conference for association and corporate meeting planners. Scott had 26 appointments with planners based in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico.

Visit Albuquerque Participates in Connect DC

Visit Albuquerque's Associate Director of Sales Larry Atchison participated in Connect DC. He had more than 20 appointments with meeting planners from the Mid-Atlantic region in a reverse trade show style format.

Visit Albuquerque Participates in Shop & Stroll

Visit Albuquerque participated in the Old Town Holiday Shop & Stroll on Dec. 2. Our team and volunteers passed out hot chocolate, cider and biscochitos from Celina’s Biscochitos at the Old Town Visitor Information Center.

Upcoming Meetings and Sports Events

In January 2023, more than 2,700 people will participate in meetings and sports events booked by Visit Albuquerque. These events will generate an estimated $1.15 million in direct spend and include:

Dates	Group Name	Est. Attendance	Meeting Location	Est. Direct Spending
Jan. 6-9	Phi Alpha Theta Annual Meeting	90	The Clyde Hotel	$89,265
Jan. 21	UNM Track & Field Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Indoor Track Invitational	960	Albuquerque Convention Center	$210,602
Jan. 24-27	CREW Network Winter Leadership Summit	325	The Clyde Hotel	$308,537
Jan. 25-27	National Tooling & Machining Association Chapter Leadership Meeting	57	Hotel Andaluz	$53,779
Jan. 27-28	Federal Aviation Administration Refresher Course	150	Sheraton Uptown Albuquerque	$118,284
Jan. 27-28	UNM Track & Field Team Open	1,120	Albuquerque Convention Center	$372,696

Please help welcome these visitors and groups to Albuquerque!

Lonely Planet Names New Mexico One of Top Destinations to Visit in 2023

Lonely Planet recently named the top 30 destinations to travel to in 2023, and New Mexico made the list. Each location was listed under a fundamental aspect of travel. New Mexico fell under the “learn” category. The destinations were chosen by a panel of travel experts who chose from nominations submitted by Lonely Planet staff, writers, bloggers and more. To read the New Mexico blurb, click here.

MARKETING TIPS AND TRICKS

Social Media Trends for 2023

What’s next for social media in 2023? Hootsuite has some predictions on the most important social media trends for the upcoming year.

How to Use Social Media as a Small Business

Social media can be a powerful tool for small businesses to grow their customer base. Learn about how small businesses can implement and grow their social media marketing.

Make Sure You Match Visitor Expectations

It's important that when visitors come to your business, they know what to expect. Ensure that your business isn’t just meeting expectations, but exceeding them.

Partner Opportunities

Submit Your Current Coupons

Coupons can be a great way to drive traffic to your business. If you have a current coupon or special running, please submit it to us so we can list it on our highly visited and shared Specials & Coupons page. We also promote these specials and coupons during special events, meetings and conventions being hosted in Albuquerque.

Click here to submit your current coupons and specials.

Submit Your Events to the ABQ365 Events Calendar

Visit Albuquerque’s ABQ365 Events Calendar offers a great opportunity to promote your events! The one-stop, all-ABQ encompassing calendar features primarily arts, entertainment and culture-focused events, appealing to both locals and visitors.

Event listings offer a great opportunity for additional exposure and promotion, and can help keep your business top-of-mind – for free!

Click here to get started.

Tell Us What’s New

We want to help you share your new initiatives. If you are offering a new type of service or concept, a new product, or have anything else exciting or new going on, we want to hear about it! Send anything and everything to Media@VisitABQ.org.

Visit Albuquerque Staff Spotlight

Liz Burnam, Visitor Information Center Manager

Liz Burnam is the Visitor Information Center Manager at Visit Albuquerque, overseeing the two visitor centers at the Albuquerque Sunport and in Old Town. She said her favorite part of the job is creating relationships with the amazing volunteers who help staff the visitor centers. “Energy and enthusiasm can be felt all around the city,” Liz said. “If you take a walk around any neighborhood in the city, you’ll see so many new businesses, attractions and developments that embody the spirit of our city. I can’t wait to see how Albuquerque grows!”

Promote & Share

ABQ in the News

Local

Ideas for shopping locally this holiday season - KOB
Visit Albuquerque offers small business ‘gift guide’ - KRQE
Small Business Saturday: Support local - KOAT

National

The Best Christmas Light Displays in Every State - Travel + Leisure
From 'Breaking Bad' to 'Friends,' Film & TV Drives up to 96% of Travel - Forbes
Taking the Kids to See the Best and Brightest Holiday Lights - Tribune Content Agency
10 Places in the U.S. to See the View From Above in a Hot Air Balloon Ride - The Travel
If You Don’t Eat This in Albuquerque, You Haven’t Tasted New Mexico - The Takeout

Partner Kudos

Rude Boy Cookies Opens New Location

Rude Boy Cookies opened a new location last month in Avanyu Plaza. The grand opening was held Nov. 19. Congratulations on the expansion!

River of Lights Named 10th Best Botanical Garden Holiday Lights Display

In USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice 2022, the ABQ BioPark’s River of Lights holiday display was voted 10 out of 20. Congratulations!

National Hispanic Cultural Center Employee Recognized as Educator of the Year

Elena Baca, the Educator & Program Coordinator for the Visual Arts Program at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, received the Museum Education Art Educator of the Year Award from the New Mexico Art Education Association. The award honors an educator who has contributed to the field of museum education. Baca leads many programs at the NHCC, including the Happy Arte Hour and the Colcha stitch-a-long. Congratulations!

Featured Partners

Unbelievable Pass

Calling local breweries, entertainment and restaurant businesses to participate in a digital passport program developed to help local businesses with no cost to participate. The Unbelievable Pass will be the premier deals pass for Albuquerque and the perfect cure for cabin fever.

Email support@unbelievablepass.com for more information.

New & Renewing Partners

Thanks To Our New And Renewing Partners

Visit Albuquerque’s Partners help support our mission to market the city as a top-choice destination for leisure travel, meetings and sporting events. Our thanks to the following Partners that recently joined or renewed their partnership with Visit Albuquerque. We appreciate your commitment to making Albuquerque a great place to live and to visit!

New Partners

New Mexico Artisan Market

Renewing Partners

Resources

November's President Report

November Leisure eNewsletter

November ABQ365 eNewsletter

Dec. 2022-Jan. 2023 Conventions with 500+ Attendees