Report: State once again sets visitor spending record

The Breaking Bad Store ABQ in Old Town experienced one of its best sales years in 2023, coming in just a few thousand dollars short of seven figures.

Marq Smith, co-owner of the shop, said he’s also seen an increasing number of visitors from across the world.

“We had a person who came in from Russia, and he said, ‘Yeah, I told my friends and family I was coming to the United States … and I was going to stop in Albuquerque, and everything out of their mouth was ‘Breaking Bad,’” Smith said. “We get that all the time.”

The sales numbers and stops by international tourists that Smith’s store is seeing are indicative of a trend statewide.

The New Mexico Tourism Department’s annual economic impact report released this past week shows visitors directly spent $8.6 billion across the state in 2023 — a new record — while the number of international visitors increased by more than 34%, to approximately 680,000, from the previous year.

“With the Route 66 Centennial on the horizon in 2026, New Mexico is well-positioned to become a trending destination for visitors both domestically and internationally,” acting state Tourism Secretary Lancing Adams said.

In 2020, amid the pandemic, visitor spending stood at $5.84 billion — a significant decrease from the record-breaking year in 2019. In 2021, however, that number jumped back to $7.2 billion and, by 2022, the state hit a new record of $8.3 billion, before that record was broken again this past year.

Overall visitors also increased by 1.2% to 41.8 million last year, the report shows, with day trippers accounting for 24.71 million and overnight visitors totaling 17.13 million. Domestic visitors overwhelmingly made up the total number at 41.16 million.

Domestic visitors also made up the majority of overall spending at close to $8 billion, with international travelers accounting for $607 million — a 36.2% increase from 2022.

Adams said the department has noticed increased coverage of the state as a leisure travel destination over the past couple of years, “which may be influencing travel decisions for some international visitors.” He also said some investments in national marketing, including in the Los Angeles and San Francisco markets recently, have helped grow awareness.

The increase in international visitors comes despite the fact that the department doesn’t currently market in other countries. With the growth, though, he said the Tourism Department is exploring partnerships with Brand USA to bring New Mexico’s offerings into select international markets.

“The significant increase in international travelers was certainly something that stuck out to us when we reviewed the findings of this report,” he said. “While there is still incredible opportunity for us to increase our market share domestically, the sharp increase in international visitation does indicate that there is viable potential for New Mexico to drive travel from markets outside the U.S.”

Employment, business sales

As in previous years, tourism has heavily contributed to job growth in the state.

The report shows that in 2023, the total number of direct jobs within the industry increased by more than 2% to 72,008 workers. When indirect and induced jobs are included, employment stood at more than 93,000.

The food and beverage industries, with about 26,000 workers, accounted for most of the direct jobs, according to the report. They were followed by more than 17,000 in entertainment and recreation and 16,157 in lodging. Nearly 8,000 jobs are in retail trade, the report shows.

“We tend to see a correlation between increased visitor spending and the growth in jobs directly supported by visitor spending,” Adams said.

The addition of indirect and induced sales — which include household consumption, the supply chain and business-to-business goods and services — also increased the total economic impact to $11.6 billion last year.

Value-added impacts to the state’s gross domestic product from tourism stood at $5.9 billion in 2023. And state and local taxes increased to $811 million last year from $782 million in 2022.