Tourism commission, area groups review progress

The commission and the Tourism Association of New Mexico decided to hold their meeting in Silver City after they heard about the Tamal Fiesta y Mas through their close work with the Southwest New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce and other area tourism groups.

The panel, which includes Commissioners Al Lucero, Selena L. Chino, Chris Stagg and Randy Randall; commission Chairman Ted Garcia; and state Tourism Department Secretary Monique Jacobson, discussed the status of the “New Mexico True” campaign, initiatives to bring tourism to southern New Mexico, legislative talking points, and laws affecting businesses whose presence in the state would bolster the economy.

The crowd featured representatives of the Gila National Wilderness, Grant County Prospectors, the Silver City Museum, the Green Chamber, the Tour of the Gila bicycle race, the Grant County Trails group and state Rep. Rudy Martinez, among others.

The “New Mexico True” advertising campaign is designed to take advantage of the state’s beautiful landscape and inform people around the country about the culture, history and natural qualities New Mexico brings to the table as a tourism destination. One of the campaign’s main features is a series of ads featuring a large photograph of a tourist site in the state and a fact with “True” or “False” boxes.

The True campaign has run in the California and now Chicago markets with goals to increase its presence in Chicago. The commission has seen a 50 percent to 300 percent increase in website visits in the markets into which the ads have already run.

The campaign also has an asset website where communities can go create their own ads. Silver City has done just that, and it is clear this community is not just another small town in New Mexico.

“Silver City is a perfect example of a community maintaining its own spirit while working with True,” said Jacobson, so has worked closely with the Silver City Visitor Center over the last few months.

Any business can go to www.newmexico.organd follow instructions to be listed on the site for free. When a business does so, its business or event is also sent directly to New Mexico Magazine.

The campaign seems to be working. In the 2010-2011 season, New Mexico saw a 5 percent growth in overall visitors, a 12 percent growth in people making New Mexico their main destination and a 9 percent growth in average spending per trip to the state.

The commissioners also urged locals to speak with their legislators to support measures that will bolster tourism.

One topic was New Mexico’s lagging competitiveness in regard to the space travel industry. A bill last year that would have provided limited liability protection to spaceport parts suppliers failed to pass the Legislature. Similar laws have been passed in Florida, Texas, Colorado and Virginia.