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| Wilson helps promote New Mexico |
May 09, 2002 |
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Representative invites colleagues to state of enchantment
Washington, DC-Congresswoman Heather Wilson will promote New Mexico as a top tourism destination, despite growing concern by many that fire coverage might scare away visitors. Wilson plans to speak on the House floor today to invite her colleagues and all Americans to be “enchanted.”
“We welcome visitors now, as always, to come and share all that makes New Mexico enchanting,” Wilson will tell other members of Congress today. “Few places on earth can rival New Mexico`s beauty or diversity. Our geology offers the gorgeous vistas of the southern Rockies, and the wide open spaces of the desert landscape.”
Wilson acknowledges that fires really impact people’s lives when they’re directly affected by the devastation. But the tourism industry, a major employer in New Mexico through hotels, restaurants, and other service industries and attractions can really take a hit when tourism is dampened by misconception. As the second largest industry in this state, tourism creates 75,000 jobs. That’s one of the reasons why the New Mexico lawmaker hopes to dispel any notion that our state is on fire, despite news coverage that sometimes makes it appear that way.
“Many of you may have seen stories in the news about wildfires in our state, and we have had them. It`s a dry year across the west. But there`s another problem we face. News coverage of a 10-thousand acre fire can make it appear that a huge portion of an entire state is in flames,” says Wilson. “To be sure, it is awful for the people directly affected. But 10-thousand acres is a bit more than 15 square miles. New Mexico is the fifth largest state in the nation, covering more than 121-thousand beautiful square miles.
“New Mexico has always offered its visitors something hard to put into words. It has a magical quality, a spiritual sense about it. Some visitors have credited it to the nature of the light that warms our high desert landscape. Others claim it comes from the richness of our culture -- a texture to life in New Mexico that calms and restores. There are echoes of ancient people here, and space and time to explore.
“I like to think it is all of those things, and more. Mr. Speaker, I invite all of my colleagues to place themselves in a state of enchantment,” concluded Wilson.
Wilson’s statement comes in the middle of National Tourism Week, celebrated from May 4 to May 12 to promote awareness of the educational, economic, and leisure benefits that tourism brings. The tourism industry in New Mexico is concerned that national coverage of wildfires in the state could throw water on their efforts to promote New Mexico as a top tourist destination.
“When you’re in Philadelphia and television news is saying ‘New Mexico is burning,’ that gives the message to people thinking of coming here that maybe they should go elsewhere,” said Art Bouffard, executive vice president of the New Mexico Lodging Association.
“We want people to know that New Mexico is open for business, and we’re glad that Congresswoman Wilson is helping to get that message out. Sometimes, people’s perception of news coverage can be that our entire state is on fire, and that’s simply not true,” said Debbie Scott, Executive Director of the Tourism Association of New Mexico (TANM). “There are several indicators New Mexico`s tourism industry sees when visitation declines, including tourism inquiries, lodger’s tax and visitation to Visitors Information Centers and state and national parks. During the Cerro Grande Fire we saw a measurable impact on tourism from New Mexico, and we certainly don’t want to see that again this year.”
The Cerro Grande fire occurred in the Los Alamos area May 9-19, 2000. Scott says that visits to Bandelier National Monument, near where the fire occurred, decreased 16% in the second quarter of 2000 and declined every quarter for a year. It was not until the second quarter of 2001 that visits began to increase. Lodger’s tax, another tourism-industry measure, was up significantly for an entire year after the fire while FEMA and construction workers were in Los Alamos helping those affected by the fire rebuild. However, lodger’s tax took a steep decline in the second quarter of 2001, a year after the fire. Los Alamos’ tourism industry is still in a recovery mode. Fenton Lake State Park was also down double digits until a year later.
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