Visit Albuquerque prohibits users from downloading images from our website.
Please use our media library for downloadable images and usage rights.It’s summertime, and the heat is officially here. But sunshine isn't the only thing June is bringing to our vibrant city; we have a multitude of exciting news and events to announce and reflect on this month.
The National Senior Games wrapped up this week, and we are thrilled to report on the great success of this major event. Bringing more than 25,000 people to our city, including athletes and spectators, we hope you all experienced the impact these athletes had on our economy this summer. They were such an inspiring group to host. Congratulations to all the athletes, and thanks to all of you, our partners, for making this event successful in collaboration with the City of Albuquerque, the National Senior Games Association and so many local supporters and volunteers!
We are excited to announce that Albuquerque was recently named 4th Best Small City on the list of America’s 50 best small cities by Resonance Consultancy, a British Columbia-based tourism and economic development consultant. Resonance highlighted Albuquerque's natural beauty, including the Sandia Mountains and the bosque along the Rio Grande, as well as developments in the Old Town and Sawmill District neighborhoods. We’re not surprised to see Albuquerque’s beauty setting us apart from other cities around the nation.
This summer, we encourage you to get out and be a visitor in your own city. There is so much to see and do—our events calendar showcases Albuquerque’s lively diversity and is chock-full of both brand new experiences throughout the city as well as tried and true favorite summer events. Check out our ABQ365 events calendar to fill up your summer schedule.
Even with all of the summer fun and activity taking over the city, we’ve still been hard at work here at Visit Albuquerque. Read on in this issue of Industry Insider to learn about our time at IPW in Anaheim, our recent sales mission to Washington, D.C., and new announcements from the organization.
As always, thank you for your continued partnership,
Tania Armenta
President & CEO
Visit Albuquerque
We encourage you to attend our upcoming Partner Orientation where the staff of the Visit Albuquerque Development Department will guide you through our website and provide you with valuable information on how to take advantage of the many benefits you receive with your partnership. Orientation is a valuable 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 PartnerEvents@VisitABQ.org.
Orientations take place the third Wednesday of the month. The next orientation will be held:
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
Visit Albuquerque Office
20 First Plaza Galeria - Ste. 601
9:30 am - 11:00 am
New to Albuquerque or the hospitality industry? Or maybe you are simply looking to enhance your customer service skills. If so, join our ACE class! ACE is a three-hour course that explores things to do and see in the Albuquerque area as well as the dos and don'ts of customer service. Cost is $25 per student. Contact 505-908-8178 or email TKHTrainingabq@gmail.com to register.
The next ACE opportunity is:
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
1:00 pm - 4:15 pm
Albuquerque Museum
2000 Mountain Road NW
Registration Begins: 12:45 pm/Class Begins: 1:00 pm
The 2019 National Senior Games presented by Humana officially wrapped up this week in Albuquerque. Thousands of athletes and supporters came to the city for the games, held June 14-25.
With all 50 states represented, 13,712 athletes participated in the 2019 National Senior Games—the most registered athletes in the event’s history -- bringing with them an estimated 15,000 friends and family members. More than 2,000 volunteers helped stage the successful, massive event.
The largest Olympic-style multisport event in the world for men and women 50 and older, the National Senior Games began in 1987 and are held every other year. The event is governed by the National Senior Games Association (NSGA), a Multisports Council Member of the United States Olympic Committee. Visit Albuquerque, along with other industry leaders, participated on the Local Host Committee, helping to plan and stage the event.
According to a study commissioned by the City of Albuquerque and completed by Workforce Solutions, it’s estimated the economic impact of this year’s games will be more than $34 million.
We hope all of you, our partners, reaped the exciting and impactful benefits that came along with the more than 25,000 out of town visitors to the city the past several weeks.
Tremendous appreciation to all of you for making this event successful in collaboration with the City of Albuquerque, the National Senior Games Association and so many local supporters and volunteers!
Condé Nast Traveler's 2019 "Reader’s Choice” awards voting is now live and we are thrilled to share that Albuquerque made the list! Vote now for Albuquerque and several area businesses at the following link: https://www.cntraveler.com/rca/vote
Readers can vote in several categories, including cities, hotels & resorts, islands, cruise ships, airlines, airports and ski resorts. Voting is open from now until June 30, at 11:59 pm ET.
For more information about the survey rules, please check out Condé Nast Traveler’s Sweepstakes Guidelines.
You can also use Condé Nast Traveler's social channels to help spread the word:
@CNTraveler on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CNTraveler
Condé Nast Traveler on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CondeNastTraveler/
Hashtag: #ReadersChoiceAwards
The entire team at Visit Albuquerque congratulates Elise Rogers on her well-deserved retirement from the organization, after 33 years. During her time here, each and every member of the Visit ABQ staff, board, partnership base, and industry has considered Elise much more than just a member of the team—she’s been a mentor, a connector and an invaluable asset to the organization and to Albuquerque.
While Elise will truly be missed around the office in addition to representing Visit Albuquerque at so many community gatherings, she certainly deserves her retirement. Her hard work and diligence have impacted Visit Albuquerque and the Albuquerque tourism industry more than we can express, and we will all strive to follow your stellar example.
We know Elise will keep in touch and visit us often—and we ask that you all join us in wishing her a fun and fruitful retirement!
Visit Albuquerque hosted a group of five travel writers/influencers in the city this week on an “ABQ Traditions” press trip. The attendees collectively contribute to a variety of top-tier media outlets, including BuzzFeed, HelloGiggles, Red Tricycle, Livability, The Denver Post, Matador Network, Travel Squire, Food & Wine, Tasting Table, and many others.
The press trip showcased the cultures, history and rich traditions of Albuquerque. Attendees experienced activities ranging from exploring the Downtown art scene and Historic Old Town, to experiencing the city’s foodie side and being immersed in the Flamenco traditions of Albuquerque. Many thanks to all of our partners that were involved with this trip and came together to make it a success.
The attendees, most of whom had never been to New Mexico, were blown away by what Albuquerque and the state has to offer, and we expect to see some great coverage as a result!
FAM Tour participants with artist Frederico Vigil
Visit Albuquerque partnered with the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce in the New Mexico True aisle at IPW (formerly International Pow Wow) in Anaheim, June 2-5. While at IPW the team conducted over 60 sales calls with both domestic and international buyers. In addition, Visit Albuquerque attended the Media Marketplace at IPW, holding a full day of back-to-back meetings with national and international travel writers and relevant media publications.
Maureen Chavez, Brenna Moore, and Yuriria Morales at IPW
Visit Albuquerque conducted a productive sales mission to Washington, D.C., May 13-16, 2019. Our team participated in 15 face-to-face appointments with association and federal agency meeting planners.
On May 14, Visit Albuquerque attended the Association of Meeting Planners (AMPS) “May Monthly Meeting” and met with additional meeting planners and suppliers from the D.C./Maryland region.
The HelmsBriscoe Annual Business Conference brings together the top producing HelmsBriscoe reps and their partners. Visit Albuquerque hosted a very successful breakfast with our Visit Madison partners and had 21 HelmsBriscoe representatives in attendance for two hours of direct one-on-one time. In addition, Clarissa Baca, Visit Albuquerque’s Senior National Sales Manager, was able to personally meet with more than 30 HelmsBriscoe representatives during the partner marketplace event.
In partnership with McKee Wallwork & Co. and Electric Playhouse Studios, Visit Albuquerque has installed a new, vibrant, visually-focused welcome display at the Albuquerque International Sunport. Featuring 16 interchangeable destination images, 4K resolution video display, and dynamic lighting effects, the new airport display is an exciting new feature welcoming visitors to Albuquerque.
Check it out next time you’re at the airport, at the bottom of the escalators, leading to baggage claim.
Many of you have asked, and we are happy to answer! We are pleased to announce and make available the option to pay your outstanding Visit Albuquerque invoices by credit card online.
It’s easy! To make an online payment, login to the Visit Albuquerque partner extranet.
Click here: https://albuquerque.extranet.simpleviewcrm.com/login/#/login.
Select the following tabs:
NOTE: Partial payments are not accepted through the online portal.
Call Novella 505-222-4307 to make arrangements for partial payments.
If you need your extranet login credentials, contact Novella at Novella@VisitABQ.org.
We want to include you in our upcoming promotional efforts surrounding the 2019 Albuquerque Art Showcase: New Mexico’s Fine Art Expo. Overlapping Santa Fe's Indian Market, this is an exciting part of the largest visual arts weekend in New Mexico. The 2019 Albuquerque Art Showcase is August 15-19 at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
This event creates a great opportunity to offer packages and deals with which it could be paired.
Submit a package or a coupon to have your offer included in our ongoing promotional efforts for this prestigious exhibition.
Here at Visit Albuquerque, we’re always developing new marketing initiatives and we want to talk about you! With summer on the horizon, we’re collecting as much information as possible so we can share what’s new in Albuquerque in 2019.
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 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.
» National Geographic Traveler - The 28 friendliest neighborhoods in U.S. cities
» Forbes - Top 10 American Cities for Family-Friendly Travel
» Oyster - The Best Summer Vacations to Take in 2019
» The Columbus Dispatch - These five U.S. cities are best bets when traveling with pets
» FamiliesGo! - 3 Unique Albuquerque Hotels For Families
Albuquerque was also recently named the 4th Best Small City in America by Best Cities/Resonance Consultancy!
Canteen Brewhouse (Formerly known as Il Vicino Brewing Company) is celebrating 25 years of producing award-winning beer in Albuquerque. Congratulations to Canteen Brewhouse on 25 years of success!
Congratulations to Museums Collaborative Council member, the Museum of the American Military Family & Learning Center in Tijeras. The museum recently received an Award of Excellence for its short film, “Love Song for the Dead,” awarded by the American Association for State and Local History.
The New Mexico Chapter of Meeting Professionals International (MPI-NM) was awarded one of ten Top Performing Chapter Awards for 2017-2018. Up against 90+ chapters, all with larger memberships, MPI-NM stood out in exceeding chapter metrics including Education Satisfaction, Volunteer Engagement, Member Participation, Member Retention, Financial Management, and more.
Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm recently won Hospitality Design Magazine’s prestigious Midsize Hotel design award at the 15th annual HD Awards Ceremony held in New York City on June 5, shining light on innovation happening in our city. The recent renovation and expansion project at Los Poblanos was selected from over one thousand international entries by an accomplished panel of hospitality experts and industry leaders that said of Los Poblanos “the environment and the mood tell a beautiful story.”
Los Poblanos is up for another award too! Be sure to vote today in the Condé Nast Traveler's 2019 "Reader’s Choice” awards. Click here to vote.
Los Poblanos is up for a Readers' Choice Award award. Be sure to vote today for Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Farm in Condé Nast Traveler's 2019 "Reader’s Choice” awards. Click here to vote.
Congratulations to our very own Angie Jepsen, Visit Albuquerque’s Senior Sports Sales Manager, on winning Bronze in the race walk event during this month’s National Senior Games!
Yucca Art Gallery, Albuquerque's oldest co-op gallery, announces Red, White & Art! Join us July 5 from 5-8 p.m.
Artists include Myra Gadson, jeweler; D.L. Horton, fused glass; and Ric Speed, photography. Artists will be on hand to discuss their work during this “All American” celebration. Enjoy art, music and refreshments.
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