Visit Albuquerque prohibits users from downloading images from our website.
Please use our media library for downloadable images and usage rights.As Visit Albuquerque wraps up its fiscal year, we are happy to reflect on a year of success and adaptability. The tourism and hospitality industry has faced many challenges the past couple of years, and we are proud of our community coming together to persevere and thrive. With the summer travel season upon us and many new, exciting developments, we can’t wait to dive into the next year.
Each June, we celebrate Pride Month in Albuquerque. The diverse and dynamic population of our city makes it one of the best LGBTQ+ vacation spots in the Southwest during any month.
This issue of Industry Insider includes updates from our Visit Albuquerque sales team, news about the City’s FY23 budget and a reminder about the extreme fire danger our state is facing.
Thank you for being a Visit Albuquerque Partner.
Tania Armenta
President & CEO
Visit Albuquerque
For four weeks this spring, Visit Albuquerque participated in the Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative and hosted Natalia Curnic, the owner of the only tourism business in Moldova. Over the course of four weeks, Natalia learned about Visit Albuquerque’s mission and operations, with the goal to enhance entrepreneurship and leadership skills and promote partnerships between business leaders in Europe and the United States. Global Ties Albuquerque helped bring about the partnership. Three other European business leaders were in Albuquerque participating in YTILI.
Natalia Curnic with Visit Albuquerque HR Director Barbara Marcus | Photo Credit: LinkedIn
Visit Albuquerque’s Senior National Sales Manager Misty Jester recently traveled to New Orleans to attend the Military Reunion Networks 2022 Educational Summit. There she had the opportunity to network, including one-on-one meetings with planners for over 22 different military reunion associations. During a breakout session, she also had the pleasure of giving a presentation on destination site visits to the reunion planners.
Will put picture from Misty here.
The Visit Albuquerque sales team secured 10 meetings and events for the city during the month of June. These group events brought in more than 4,500 attendees and generated almost 6,900 room nights. The Albuquerque Sports Commission supported five sporting events in the city during June. To view the full report, click here.
The New Mexico Hospitality Association wants your help in determining their priorities for the 2023 legislative session. Fill out this survey as soon as possible to identify the issues the hospitality and tourism industry is facing. Your input will help the NMHA better advocate for the industry when the State Legislature convenes for the 60-day session that begins January 17.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller signed the budget for the 2023 fiscal year, which begins July 1. The $1.4 billion budget includes more than $11.5 million for raises and retention at the Albuquerque Police Department, $18.8 million for affordable housing, $5 million for the Local Economic Development Act fund and $1.2 million for improvements, technology and staffing to improve the development process in the Planning Department.
A new study conducted by the International Downtown Association found that downtown Albuquerque is an “emerging” Downtown area. Emerging downtowns are characterized by having a low proportion of citywide jobs and population and lower densities. However, emerging downtowns have the potential to grow. According to the study, downtown Albuquerque is relatively small, covering less than a square mile of land. Downtown Albuquerque has one of the lowest total populations in the study, but one of the highest ratio of jobs to residents. To read the full study, click here.
Many of the national forests in New Mexico have had to close to all visitors due to extreme fire danger. The Lincoln, Santa Fe and Carson National Forests are completely closed. The Cibola National Forest’s Mount Taylor, Mountainair and Sandia Ranger Districts are closed, which includes the Sandia Mountains. The Albuquerque bosque remains open to visitors.
The All Together NM Fund is still open for those who want to assist with the ongoing recovery for those who have lost their homes this spring.
Picture of Calf Canyon and Hermits Peak Fire | Photo Credit: Ester Nelson/USFS
Visit Albuquerque’s ACE training program is designed to brush up your employees’ customer service skills and strengthen their knowledge about the city. Graduates of the program can answer guests’ questions about things to do and places to visit. The program also provides training on topics such as first impressions, effective communication and handling conflict.
Don’t miss your chance to attend an upcoming class:
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Holiday Inn & Suites
5050 Jefferson St NE, Albuquerque
Each class begins promptly at 9 a.m. and ends at 12:30 p.m. The cost is $25 per person for Partner businesses and $40 per person for non-Partners. A continental breakfast will be provided along with water and coffee. To register, call Trish Hathoot at 505-908-8178 or send an email to TKHTrainingABQ@gmail.com.
Graduates will be recognized as Albuquerque Community Experience professionals and will receive a complimentary Community Experience pass that allows each of them and one guest to visit attractions throughout the Albuquerque area. The value of each ACE pass is more than $500!
Seating for upcoming classes is limited, so register your employees now!
You don’t need a fancy camera to improve the images of your business on your website, social media or Google. Pull out your smartphone and get ready to snap some pictures to give you a boost. Destination Travel Network has some tips on making your photos more engaging just in time for the summer season!
It can happen to the best of us. One minute everything is fine, and then your company is at the center of some intense hate on social media. It is important to have a plan in place when a situation arises. Hootsuite has a guide on how to manage a social media crisis, and how best to prevent a crisis in the first place.
Balloon Fiesta is fast approaching, and we want to help bring customers to your business. For the 50th anniversary of the event, Visit Albuquerque is offering three ways to promote your business. You can submit a coupon to our City Guide, which will be distributed to more than 20,000 visitors during Balloon Fiesta. The guide will include a full calendar of events and helpful information about things to do in Albuquerque. Submit your coupon today to be included in the City Guide at no charge. Fill out this form no later than July 27, 2022. If you have any questions please contact marketing@visitabq.org or 505-222-4314.
You also can purchase a half-page or full-page ad in the City Guide to boost your business even more during Balloon Fiesta. For more details on prices, take a look at the City Guide Rate Card. Premium positions have already sold out. To secure your place in the City Guide, contact Mary Brown at 505-222-4310 or brown@visitabq.org before Aug. 1.
In addition, you can share information on our website about Balloon Fiesta/Fall packages, deals, specials, tours, events and other promotions. Packages and deals created around an event or a season are a great way to encourage visitors to your business. And Balloon Fiesta and the surrounding fall events create a great opportunity to do just that.
We encourage you to start thinking about 50th Balloon Fiesta offerings now. Get creative and think outside the box! Aside from coupons, some promotional ideas might include:
Submit a package or a coupon to have your offer promoted on our webpage, which is highly ranked on search engines and receives an average of 140,000 unique visitors per month.
If you have an offering or special that is not a coupon or deal, email us at Marketing@VisitABQ.org.
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.
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!
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’s Senior National Sales Manager Tabitha Stallworth recently celebrated her three-year work anniversary. She says after coming from the hotel side of hospitality, it has been great to learn the role destination marketing organizations play in the hospitality industry. “I now see myself as an extension of the individual hotel teams and I enjoy being one of the first people to know about the enhancements we are making to boost tourism in Albuquerque,” Stallworth said. “Using this information to share how we can enhance a group’s experience, as well as spark excitement for future leads, has been invaluable.”
Local
National
Sumner & Dene and Pimental & Sons were honored with awards from the Albuquerque Art Business Association this month. Roy Johnson of Sumner & Dene received the President’s Award. Pimentel & Sons received a Lifetime of Excellence award.
The New Mexico Rail Runner Express’s video “Catch the Bird'' won the People’s Telly Silver Award. The video has won local and two international awards so far this year. To watch the video, click here.
The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad was named the second best scenic train ride in the United States by USA Today’s 10Best. To see the full ranking, click here.
Partnering with Visit Albuquerque to provide the Official Map of Albuquerque since 2016
Put your business on the map!
Reserve your space now! Call 505-750-0076 or email jeffstevens@discoverymap.com
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.
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 renewed their partnership with Visit Albuquerque. We appreciate your commitment to making Albuquerque a great place to live and to visit!
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