INDUSTRY INSIDER

May 2019

Partner Events
News
Partner Opportunities
Promote & Share
Partner Kudos
Featured Partners
Resources

HELLO, VISIT ALBUQUERQUE PARTNERS

We are wrapping up a very successful spring season for the industry, and we are eager to welcome the warm weather, sunny skies, exciting events and increasing visitation this summer.

As we welcome visitors to Albuquerque in these summer months, we hope you are also planning to take advantage of upcoming events throughout the city, including ABQ Beer Week, the Albuquerque Wine Festival, Isotopes Baseball, New Mexico United soccer games, Festival Flamenco and the many farmers’ markets that have opened up in recent weeks.

It has been a busy month for us here at Visit Albuquerque. Our Sales team is wrapping up a successful spring FAM tour for meeting planners this week, our PR team is gearing up for a June press trip, the Albuquerque Sports Commission recently represented the city at the Sports Events & Tourism Association Symposium in Knoxville, Tn., and the rest of our team has been busy at work with many other conferences, conventions and events around the city, state and country.

Of course one of the highlights of the summer will be the National Senior Games, June 14-25. We hope you’ll consider volunteering, if you have not already, and spectating at some of the events which are all free. Our sincere appreciation to everyone working diligently, in partnership with the City of Albuquerque, to ensure the games are successful!

As always, thank you for your continued partnership,

Tania Armenta
President & CEO
Visit Albuquerque

Partner Events

Partner Orientation

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 are held the 3rd Wednesday of the month. The next orientation will be held:

Wednesday, June 19
Visit Albuquerque Office
20 First Plaza Galeria - Ste. 601
9:30 am - 11:00 am

ACE

New to Albuquerque or the hospitality industry? 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 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:

Monday, June 17, 2019
NM Museum of Natural History & Science
1801 Mountain Road NW
Registration Begins: 12:45 pm/Class Begins: 1:00 pm

Save the Date! Visit ABQ Quarterly Meeting and Business Exchange

Save the date for Visit Albuquerque’s June Quarterly Meeting and Business Exchange, June 26, 2019. Join us in a celebration of the first six months of 2019 accomplishments, completion of a successful National Senior Games, and bidding farewell to Elise Rogers as she retires from Visit Albuquerque after 33 years of service to our organization.

Wednesday, June 26, 2019
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
The Event Center at Sandia Golf Club
30 Rainbow Road

News

Visit ABQ Hosts Spring Sales FAM

Visit Albuquerque hosted the 2019 spring familiarization (FAM) trip for meeting planners beginning May 19, wrapping up today, May 21. The FAM would not have been possible without our valuable partners including Sheraton Albuquerque Airport Hotel, St. Clair Winery & Bistro (soon to be D.H. Lescombes Winery & Bistro), Level 5, Zinc, Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway and Sandiago’s, and Rainbow Ryders. Our guests have been inspired and impressed by the natural beauty, friendly hospitality, and rich cultural heritage of Albuquerque.

If you’d like to be considered for participation in future FAMs, let us know at sales@visitabq.org or media@visitabq.org.

PR Summit and Roundtable at New Mexico Governor’s Conference on Hospitality & Tourism

This year in conjunction with the New Mexico Governor’s Conference on Hospitality and Tourism, the New Mexico Hospitality Association hosted a Public Relations Roundtable and PR Summit. The Summit brought together a variety of state entities and their travel media relations agencies of record to discuss and brainstorm stronger state-wide collaborations and alignment in regards to public and media relations efforts. All stakeholders were invited to the PR Roundtable on April 30, where PR professionals representing state organizations led a discussion on collaborative efforts to enhance earned media for all of New Mexico’s tourism industry partners.

Visit ABQ at Connect New York Marketplace

Clarissa Baca represented Visit Albuquerque at Connect NYC on May 7. Clarissa conducted a total of 26 preset appointments with meeting professionals based in the Northeast who currently, or have the potential to, plan meetings in the Southwest.

Albuquerque Sports Commission at Sports Events & Tourism Association Symposium

The Albuquerque Sports Commission, a division of Visit Albuquerque, was represented by Angela Gandy and Angie Jepsen at the Sports Events & Tourism Association Symposium in Knoxville Tn., May 6-9. Sports ETA was formerly known as the National Association of Sports Commissions.

National Senior Games Announces Record-Breaking Athlete Registration

The 2019 National Senior Games, which will be held in Albuquerque June 14-25, has the most registered athletes in the organization’s history. Additionally, New Mexico is the number one state for athletes registered.

With all 50 states represented, 13,712 athletes will participate in the 2019 National Senior Games, which is 30% higher than the games in Birmingham, Ala., in 2017 and 14% higher than the previous record of 12,000 athletes in Louisville, Ky., in 2007. New Mexico is the state with the most athletes participating - 1,516 total.

“Albuquerque is the perfect backdrop to the Games, with our great weather, training altitude, and the diversity that makes our city so unique,” stated Mayor Tim Keller. “It’s no surprise that so many athletes are making their way to the Land of Enchantment to compete in the Games—we are grateful to be the host city that broke the record for participation.”

Al-BREW-querque Sweepstakes Winner Announced

In our work to promote Albuquerque as a world-class craft beer destination, Visit ABQ recently wrapped up another sweepstakes vacation giveaway, made possible in collaboration with many of our partners. The Al-BREW-querque Sweepstakes centered around ABQ Beer Week and Albuquerque Blues & Brews wrapped up at the end of April, and the beer-themed Albuquerque getaway goes to Ralph W. from Colorado Springs. Ralph will be traveling with his wife and is excited to spend Memorial Day Weekend in Albuquerque.

Click here to see all that the prize package includes.

Partner Opportunities

Featured Partner Benefit: Partner Orientation

All partners are encouraged to join us to learn more about the many partner benefits we offer!

The Visit Albuquerque Development Department staff provides an overview of our organization, guides you through our website, and presents valuable information about the various exclusive benefits you receive with your partnership. Orientation is a valuable tool for new partners and a great refresher for long-time partners.

This is a complimentary partner benefit; however, registration is required.

Please call Novella Trujillo at 505-222-4307 or email PartnerEvents@VisitABQ.org to register.

Orientations are held the 3rd Wednesday of the month at our office.

The next one will be held on June 19.

Visit Albuquerque Office
20 First Plaza Galeria - Ste. 601
9:30 am - 11:00 am

Send Us Your Brochures!

As the National Senior Games fast approach and the busiest visitor season is upon us, we want to distribute your brochures!

We’re preparing to stock our Visitor Information Centers in order to be ready for the thousands of athletes and their families coming to Albuquerque for the National Senior Games. Ship, mail or drop off your brochures to our main office downtown by the first week in June.

The volunteers at the Information Centers are not allowed to accept your brochures. Please send them to the main office so we can maintain the inventory and notify you when we run low. We anticipate needing a lot of them, so please be sure to bring several hundred. For questions, contact Roxane at Cisneros@visitabq.org.

Tell Us What’s New

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.

Promote & Share

ABQ in the News

Check out VisitABQ.org/GoodNews for this season's biggest stories about ABQ.

» TripSavvy - Sandia Peak: The Complete Guide

» Travel Mamas - Taste Albuquerque’s Growing Farm to Table Food Scene

» Family Vacation Critic - 13 Best Small Amusement Parks in the U.S.

» Corporate & Incentive Travel - CVB Leaders: Remarkable Women Share Their Insights and Wisdom

» Courier - Meet the Members

Partner Kudos

Kudos to St. Clair/D.H. Lescombes Winery & Bistro on Rebranding

Congratulations to St. Clair Winery & Bistro, which will be soon be adopting the name D.H. Lescombes Winery & Bistro. The change is a way to return to the Lescombes family roots with both its bistros and its wines.

Kudos to Meow Wolf on New York Times Feature

Congratulations to Meow Wolf on landing a full length New York Times feature article this month, “Can an Art Collective Become the Disney of the Experience Economy?” Read the article here.

Congrats to Seasons on Their 25-year Anniversary and New Renovations

Seasons Rotisserie & Grill is celebrating 25 years of success this year, and has marked the occasion with new renovations at its Old Town location. Be sure to check out the updates while enjoying some delicious food soon!

Congratulations to New Mexico United on Record-Breaking Attendance

New Mexico’s new soccer team is second in attendance in the 36-team United Soccer League, well ahead of Phoenix, San Antonio and Saint Louis. The United are averaging more than 11,000 fans a game - and broke another attendance record with more than 15,000 fans at Isotopes Park on Sunday, May 5. Currently, New Mexico United holds as the number one team in the United Soccer League's Western Conference. Go United!

Kudos to Hotel Andaluz on Returning to its Roots with Hilton Rebrand

Congratulations to Hotel Andaluz, on the recent announcement that it will be tapping into its past with a rebrand. Hotel Andaluz's history began with the Hilton brand, and the downtown hotel will now be rebranding as Hotel Andaluz Albuquerque Curio Collection by Hilton. The Curio Collection by Hilton is an upscale collection with 70 hotels and resorts.

Featured Partner

ABQ Beer Week

Albuquerque’s premier beer week returns with an 11-day celebration for its 9th anniversary. Albuquerque Beer Week is a barley-filled celebration with something for everyone: local microbrew tastings, exciting tours, incredible food events, and some of the best bands that Albuquerque has to offer. ABQ Beer Week kicks off May 23 and runs through June 2.

Learn More

Yucca Art Gallery "Summer's Glory" Exhibit Opening June 3

Yucca Art Gallery "Summer's Glory" exhibit will begin June 3. Featured artists Carol Erickson, Book Arts, Barb Fajardo, Jewelry and Teresa Prather, oils will be available during a reception 5-7pm. The show runs through June at the Old Town gallery 206 1/2 San Felipe NW #1 Patio Market. For more information visit www.YuccaArtGallery.com or call 505.247.8931.

Learn More