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HELLO, VISIT ALBUQUERQUE PARTNERS 

Another Balloon Fiesta is officially behind us. As we take a moment to appreciate all those who make it possible and enjoy the remarkable benefits of this world-renowned event in our city, we’re ready to take on the rest of the beautiful fall season and head into the holidays.
 
Beyond the Fiesta rush, we've also hosted several large Fam Tours the past few weeks, providing us the opportunity to establish new relationships and solidify great potential business for the city. 
 
With the new fall colors also comes new projects, new initiatives and fresh energy moving forward. Production of the 2020 Official Albuquerque Visitors Guide is underway. While most of our Partners are included in the guide, there is still time to tell even more of your story in 2020. This year’s guide will feature fresh editorial content, more inspirational imagery and an impressive layout and design. Read on in this issue and contact us to learn more about and take advantage of advertising and listing opportunities.
 
As always, thank you for your continued partnership. 

 

Tania Armenta
President & CEO
Visit Albuquerque 


Partner Events

 
Partner Orientation

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

Orientations take place the third Wednesday of the month. The next orientation will be held:

Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Visit Albuquerque Office
20 First Plaza NW, Suite 601
9:30 am - 11:00 am
 

ACE

We invite you to join us at our 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

If you are interested in hosting a private class for your business, contact Trish for the details.

The next ACE opportunity is:  

Thursday, November 21, 2019
9:00 am - 12:30 pm 
National Museum of Nuclear Science & History
601 Eubank Blvd. SE 
Registration Begins: 8:45 am/Class Begins: 9:00 am

Continental breakfast with coffee and water will be served. ACE attendees are invited to tour the museum after the class.

 

Save the Date! Visit ABQ Quarterly Meeting & Holiday Celebration

Mark your calendars to join Visit Albuquerque for our quarterly update and celebration of a record-breaking year for the tourism and hospitality industry. Watch your email for an invitation and more details in the coming weeks!

Wednesday, December 11, 2019
4:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Isleta Resort and Casino
11000 Broadway Blvd. SE

 

News

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta 2019 

Hundreds of thousands of visitors flocked to Albuquerque earlier this month for New Mexico’s largest event. More than 550 balloons took flight in the Albuquerque skies during the event’s nine days, and the 2019 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta® proved to be an exciting and successful event.  

Visit Albuquerque was there in full swing again this year, inviting visitors to take a free photo at our giant Visit ABQ frame on the field. The frame photo op was popular, with long lines of people waiting to pose inside the frame during the weekend sessions. We also answered visitors’ questions at our information table and distributed special booklets to visitors that included information about all of the other things to see and do during their time here in Albuquerque. 

Visit Albuquerque also conducted a promotional campaign in the months leading up to Balloon Fiesta including a microsite on VisitABQ.org, email marketing, social media and more. In addition, we sponsored the Fiesta’s official mobile app.

With many visitors from other states and other countries, the team at Visit Albuquerque heard countless stories of positive feedback on the VisitABQ.org website, social media sites, other travel tools and outstanding service they received from you leading up to their visit and while they were here. Hearing tales of happy travels to our city is always rewarding, and we are thrilled to meet visitors firsthand. 

We hope you all had a busy and successful Fiesta season!

2019 Balloon Fiesta Frame

Visit Albuquerque Participates in Special Sales Events in Washington, D.C.

Last month, Visit Albuquerque joined sales teams from Providence, Des Moines and St. Paul to host and participate in a special two-day client event in Washington, D.C.
 
The event included a competitive axe and hatchet throwing contest at Kraken Axes and a cooking class and presentation at CulinAerie Cooking School. Visit Albuquerque’s Associate Director of Sales Larry Atchison attended the events and was able to establish and grow important client relationships for potential future business in Albuquerque.

Washington DC Sales Event

Visit ABQ Hosts HPN and YMRC Fam Tours

Visit Albuquerque recently hosted two large Sales Fam Tours, including a group of 33 participants from the Health Professions Network (HPN) and a group of 39 participants from Your Military Reunion Connection (YMRC). The attendees and their organizations represent important markets for business in Albuquerque. 

The trips showcased the variety of ways Albuquerque is unique and the attractions and venues that make this city ideal for hosting events. Attendees experienced activities ranging from museum visits to hot air balloon rides, enjoyed Albuquerque’s spectacular food scene, and participated in film location tours. Both groups also took part in a variety of event venue and hotel tours and informational sessions about Albuquerque’s vast meetings and events capabilities. Many thanks to all of our partners that were involved with this trip and came together to make it a success.

The attendees were impressed by all that Albuquerque has to offer, and we expect to see some great business as a result!

Hot Air Balloon Ride

 

Vote for Visit Albuquerque in SportsEvents Magazine’s Reader’s Choice Awards

Vote for Visit Albuquerque (listed for voting as Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau) for the Destinations and Venues to Watch in 2020 category of the SportsEvents Magazine Reader’s Choice Awards. Cast your vote here!

 

Albuquerque Regional Sports Complex

 

NMTD Offers Free Google Workshops for Tourism Businesses

In partnership with Miles Partnerships, the New Mexico Tourism Department is offering digital education workshops for the tourism and hospitality businesses. Each workshops will showcase how businesses can expand exposure within Google’s products and improve conversion of digital audiences to actual customers. At these in-person workshop at 12 different locations stretching from southern New Mexico to north, Miles Partnership will provide tactical training and how-to documents covering tips and best practices for getting the most out of opportunities within Google My Business. Topics covered will include:

  • Claiming and managing your account
  • Obtaining and responding to reviews
  • Tips to improve your photography
  • Adding 360 images & video
  • Removing photos from your listing
  • Leveraging Local Guides
  • Getting the most from posts

New Mexico will be the first state to deploy this program statewide. The Tourism Department will travel to 12 cities to conduct these workshops including Albuquerque and Bernalillo on November 20, 2019. Click here for more details and to sign up.

 

Meeting Stock

 

Governor Lujan Grisham Appoints First-Ever Director of Outdoor Recreation

Axie Navas has been appointed New Mexico’s first Director of the Office of Outdoor Recreation. Navas is a veteran journalist and outdoor enthusiast who has managed digital media and marketing for Outside magazine. 

Navas assumed the position with the New Mexico Economic Development Department (NMEDD) on Sept. 23 and will work in close partnership with Peter Mitchell, an EDD regional representative with a long history in business development.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the law on April 2 that made New Mexico the 15th state to create an Office of Outdoor Recreation. The bill passed the Senate 38-0 and the House 52-14.

Outdoor recreation is a key aspect of tourism, and with all that Albuquerque and its surrounding areas have to offer in the outdoor space, we will be eager to see what new outdoor initiatives come to the state with this new position.

Scenic Hiking

 

 

Partner Opportunities

 

Featured Partner Benefit: Partner Presentation Opportunities 

The more we know about our Partners, the better we can help promote them. Each of our Partners has the opportunity to attend an upcoming staff or volunteer meeting to introduce yourself and your business. These meetings are a great way to share information that we can pass along to visitors, convention attendees and our contacts in the local business community.

Visit Albuquerque Staff Meetings
Visit Albuquerque has a staff of approximately 30 people who would love to learn more about your business. You are allotted 10 minutes for your presentation with an additional five minutes for staff questions. For further information and available meeting dates, please contact Novella Trujillo at 505-222-4307 or Novella@VisitAbq.org.

Volunteer Meetings
Our volunteers assist visitors at our Old Town and Sunport Visitor Centers. They also staff information tables during certain conventions. They come into contact with many visitors, convention attendees and local residents on a daily basis. You can present at a Volunteer Meeting or host a Volunteer Meeting at your location, which gives you the opportunity to welcome the volunteers into your business and showcase everything you have to offer to Albuquerque visitors. For further information and available meeting dates, please contact Liz Burnam at 505-222-4304.
 

Advertise in the 2020 Albuquerque Official Visitors Guide

The Official Albuquerque Visitors Guide is designed to inspire people who are planning to visit our beautiful city as well as those who have already made the trip and are looking for ideas about where to eat, shop and spend their time while they are here. 

With 250,000 copies printed annually, these guides are distributed through mail to those who request a copy, as well as at local businesses and Visitor Information Centers. The guide also is distributed at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, and an interactive version of the guide is posted on the Visit Albuquerque website.

Being included in the Visitors Guide increases your exposure to the millions of visitors who travel to Albuquerque annually! If you are interested in advertising in this annual publication, contact Mary Brown, 505-222-4310 or advertise@visitabq.org.

A recent survey conducted by Destination Analysts confirmed that:

  • Almost 89% of potential visitors who received an Official Albuquerque Visitors Guide said it helped them make the decision to travel to Albuquerque!
  • Nearly 67% said that they increased their stay 1.3 days after receiving the Visitors Guide!

Advertising Booklet

Visitors Guide Rate Card 

 

Return Your Listing Update Forms – Final Deadline Approaching

Partners in most business categories receive a listing in the Visitors Guide as a benefit of partnership. Listing update forms for the 2020 Visitors Guide were mailed August 23 to partners that qualify. If you have not yet returned your form, there is still time. However, the final deadline is quickly approaching. 

Please contact Janice Pomeroy at Pomeroy@VisitABQ.org if you have any questions or need another copy of your form.

 

Send Us Your Holiday and Winter Packages and Deals 

We want to include you in our upcoming winter season and holiday promotional efforts. If you are offering a holiday/winter package or deal, we want to know about it and share it! Packages and deals created around a holiday or a season are a great way to encourage visitors to your business. Albuquerque’s beautiful winter weather and unique holiday traditions create a great opportunity to do just that.

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.

 
Tell Us What’s New

Here at Visit Albuquerque, we’re always developing new marketing initiatives and we want to talk about you! With the fall season beginning, we’re collecting as much information as possible so we can share what’s new in Albuquerque this season and the rest of 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 you about to? Grand opening? Send anything and everything to Media@VisitABQ.org.

 

Promote & Share

 

 

Partner Kudos

 

Congratulations to José García on Receiving the Zia Award from UNM

The University of New Mexico Alumni Association has announced José García, General Manager of the Albuquerque Convention Center, as the recipient of the 2019  Zia Award, which honors outstanding alumni who make their home in New Mexico. Here at Visit Albuquerque, we are proud to have José García sit on our board of directors and work with him almost daily as a key strategic partner. We all extend a big congratulations to José!

 

Congratulations to Los Poblanos on being named one of the 100 Most Incredible Hotels in the World by Fodor’s Travel

Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Farm was named one of Fodor’s Travel’s 100 Most Incredible Hotels in the World, out of only 15 in the United States. Congrats to Los Poblanos!

 

Congratulations to Los Poblanos and Celina’s Biscochitos on Their Recognition in the TripSavvy Editors’ Choice Awards

Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Farm and Celina’s Biscochitos have both been recognized in the TripSavvy Editors’ Choice Awards. TripSavvy uses a combination of proprietary machine learning and real, human vetting to recognize the world’s very best restaurants, hotels, and attractions — all from a pool of 60,000 businesses. Congratulations to all of the Albuquerque businesses included in this year’s awards! 

 

Resources