Officials: $300M in new tourism spending helped add 1,700 jobs
Las Cruces Sun News
By: Jason Gibbs
July 8th, 2014
LAS CRUCES >> Gov. Susana Martinez and Tourism Secretary Monique Jacobson highlighted an economic bright spot in the state with a Las Cruces stop Tuesday, announcing that while the number of visitors to New Mexico grew by less than 1 percent last year, overall spending by tourists increased by 7 percent.
It was the second of a two-day tour touting the numbers. They spent Monday in Roswell. As a result of the roughly $300 million in new revenue taken in by communities, the state’s leisure and hospitality industry was able to create 1,700 new jobs last year, Martinez said, with an additional 700 jobs created between January and May of this year.
The Las Cruces Convention and Visitors Bureau reports that for the year that ended June 30, Las Cruces was up 5.1 percent in lodgers tax. Gross receipts collections for accommodation and food service were up 2.7 percent, pointing to continued improvement over last year for local tourism.
“That’s a good increase, a solid increase,” said Philip San Filippo, executive director of the LCCVB. “Accommodation and restaurants is where we see consistent growth.”
“Tourism is a strong economic driver and a critical component of the diverse economy we are working to create in communities throughout New Mexico,” Martinez said. “It leads to new jobs and growth in cities, towns, and villages throughout the state.”
Jacobson said the increases represent the third consecutive year of tourism growth in New Mexico, and the second consecutive year of record-breaking tourism growth.
Overall visitor spending has grown more than 24 percent since 2010. Over that time period, officials say, an additional 2.4 million visitors came to New Mexico, with a record 32.2 million people traveling to New Mexico last year alone.
Martinez called it an “amazing change in tourism” in a very short time.
The numbers are good news in a state that a number of recent reports and federal statistics show is one of only a few in the nation that is losing jobs.
When Tuesday’s announcement at Hotel Encanto was moved indoors due to heat, Jacobson praised the staff for the quick and courteous action, noting “it’s the people in the hospitality industry” that help foster tourism growth.
Jacobson said the growth in spending by tourists in New Mexico is nearly double the 2013 national rate of 4.5 percent.
She credits the “New Mexico True” campaign launched in early 2012. The state has also increased its advertising budget.
“This data continues to reinforce the point that New Mexico True is working by attracting active visitors who stay longer and spend more money all over the state,” Jacobson said.
Las Cruces partnered with New Mexico True to put on the Las Cruces Country Music Festival this year, which Martinez said gave a $400,000 boost to the local economy. And, she noted, other communities — 25 in all — which have joined the program are seeing sharp increases in tourism as well.
“New Mexico is truly The Land of Enchantment,” she said. “We need to brag about all corners of our state.”