.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

Copyright © 2014 Albuquerque Journal

Tourism in Sandoval County is rebounding after taking a huge hit in the recent recession, thanks to increased statewide recognition of the area’s recreational assets and a new collaborative approach that welcomes small towns and villages alike in trying to draw visitors, according to the county’s tourism manager.

Tax revenues from hotels, bed and breakfasts and other lodges in the unincorporated parts of Sandoval County have rebounded from a low of less than $13,000 in the budget year that ended in 2012 to more than $16,000 this budget year. That’s despite there being one fewer lodge for tourists. Revenues are about $2,000 less than they were for the budget year ending in 2008.

State Tourism Secretary Monique Jacobson said Sandoval County and the attractions within it embody everything that the state has to offer – from historic small towns, a variety of natural resources and rich culture – and that the county has been featured in national advertising promoting the entire state. That’s one of the reasons the area was one of seven statewide to receive a $40,000 grant in August for tourism marketing, she said.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip

................................................................

“We’ve been amazed about how much Sandoval County has to offer,” Jacobson said. “The only issue is an awareness issue, not an offering issue.”

The county has teamed up with the Valles Caldera, Jemez Springs, Rio Rancho, Cuba and Corrales to unify its marketing efforts, and county tourism manager Amy Griffin said the collaborative approach allows the area to promote not only its outdoor destinations, like Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument and the Valles Caldera National Preserve, but also its metropolitan and small-town areas, like Rio Rancho and the Village of Corrales.

“Since they’ve seen how good it is to market together, they’re coming on board,” Griffin said. “We have so much to offer here in Sandoval County.”

The number of guests who walk into the Bernalillo-based visitors center also increased by more than 4,000 people between 2011 and 2012, from 6,469 to 10,839.

The number has continued to slightly increase since then and the center is on track to break that record, with 7,900 people stopping by between January and July of this year, according to tourism center data.

Griffin attributed the increase to a new advertising firm and the state’s New Mexico True campaign, which markets the “Adventure steeped in culture” of New Mexico and features areas of the county like the Valles Caldera and Tent Rocks.

She also touted paddle-boarding in the Rio Grande and horseback riding at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa as two lesser-known attractions.

“It’s just a spiritual adventure here,” she said, “and nobody knows you can do that.”

Griffin said the tourism department’s goal now is to increase access to various points of interest without damaging them. One problem is that NM 4, which meanders through the Jemez Mountains, is only a two-lane road. So she hopes to encourage a tourism company to pick up visitors at the Rail Runner Express train station in Bernalillo and take them up to lodging and attractions in the wilderness, perhaps after a stop at a new nearby microbrewery.

“How do we get them up there without damaging the resources?” she said. “That’s kind of our pie-in-the-sky right now.”