Sep. 1—Tourism in New Mexico has continued to grow, generating billions of dollars, according to a new report by tourism research company Longwoods International.
More than 40 million visitors took trips in the Land of Enchantment in 2022. All those travelers meant a lot of spending. Total expenditures for New Mexico's 2022 domestic travel market were $7.6 billion, up 16% from the previous year. The number of visitors was up almost 5%.
The report shows strong interest in cultural and outdoor activities.
"We're 20 points higher than the U.S. norm when it comes to people participating in cultural activities," said Victoria Gregg, research director for the New Mexico Tourism Department.
Based on the report, it appears that New Mexico's leisure travel market has recovered from the pandemic, as there was more leisure travel in 2022 than in 2019, Gregg said. While business travel is still below 2019 levels, it's grown from the previous year.
"When the pandemic started, something that stuck out to us is that leisure travel might rebound quicker ... so seeing a boost in business travel is a positive sign to us as a state, especially for places that rely on it a little more than others," said Cody Johnson, the Tourism Department's communications director.
Business travel typically takes longer to plan than leisure travel, said Gregg, which is likely playing a role in the slower rebound. For instance, organizing a convention can take a year or longer.
Where do travelers spend money in New Mexico?
Overnight travelers spent $5.3 billion in 2022, up 18% from the previous year.
Much of that money went to lodging and food.
Overnight visitors spent nearly $2 billion on lodging, up 26% from the previous year, and $1 billion on restaurant food and beverages, up 11% from the previous year. Travelers also spent $824 million on retail purchases, $799 million on transportation at their destination and $584 million on recreation and entertainment.
On average, overnight travelers spent $315 per person per trip.
The top 10 activities and experiences for overnight travelers were shopping, sightseeing, visiting a landmark or historic site, a museum, a national or state park, attending a celebration, going to a casino, visiting a Native American community, going to a bar or nightclub, and going to an art gallery.
Souvenir shopping made up 50% of visitor shopping during a trip, compared to the U.S. norm of 41%, while convenience or grocery shopping was 49%, followed in popularity by outlet or mall shopping, big box stores, boutique shopping and antiquing.
Visitors enjoyed eating unique or local food, which made up 55% of trip dining. Street food and food trucks were next in popularity at 30%. Fine or upscale dining made up 24% of food purchases, closely followed in popularity by food delivery services, which stood at 23%.
There were 24.1 million day-trips, up 4% from the previous year. Day-trip visitors spent $2.3 billion, up nearly 13% from 2021. Much of that money went toward food and drinks. Day-trip visitors spent $708 million on restaurant food and beverages, $605 million on transportation at their destination, $583 million on retail purchases, and $413 million on recreation or entertainment.
On average, day-trips cost $96 per person.
The great outdoors are a big draw for New Mexico travelers: 60% of overnight visitors did outdoor activities, compared to the U.S. norm of 48%.
Who visits New Mexico?
People who come to New Mexico like to come back. A large number of travelers, 83%, who spent at least one night in New Mexico were repeat visitors. Fifty-five percent of overnight travelers had visited before in the past 12 months. The state saw 16.7 million overnight trips, up almost 6% from last year. There were big gains in overnight travel between 2020 and 2021, after a 15% drop in 2020.
Approximately 40% of overnight visitors last year made less than $50,000 a year, while approximately 20% had an income of $50,000 to $75,000. Fifty-two percent of overnight visitors were full-time workers, while 38% were retired or not employed.
Those travelers typically had three people in their party, usually including a spouse or partner, and they were likely to spend the night at a hotel (46%) or motel (22%). Relatively few stayed at a rented home, condo or apartment (just 9% compared to 13% in 2021).
Day-trip visitors were more likely to be male, 62%, while both day and overnight visitors were likely to be white. Seventy-seven percent of overnight visitors were white and 81% of day-trip visitors were white. Twenty-four percent of overnight visitors were of a Hispanic background.
That influx of Texas license plates on New Mexico highways is not just your imagination. For overnight trips, many visitors were Texas residents, 18%, while 17% were New Mexico residents.
The state also saw plenty of California, Colorado and Arizona visitors. For day-trips, 28% of visitors were from New Mexico, and 12% were from Texas. Again, California and Arizona residents took plenty of New Mexico day-trips, but New Yorkers made up 6% of day-trip travel.
Visitors often came to stay for fun and family.
Those overnight trips were typically people participating in marketable activities like touring (18%), enjoying the outdoors (9%), coming to a special event (6%), making a city trip (5%), or going to a casino (5%) or to a resort (3%). While 54% of those overnight visitors were doing something that the state's tourism department or businesses could market, 32% were visiting friends or family. Only 9% stayed overnight for a business trip, while another 6% were on business-leisure trips.
