Visit Las Cruces reports stronger event pipeline, $2.8M lodgers-tax revenue in FY24

Visit Las Cruces Executive Director Rochelle Miller Hernandez presented the tourism office’s annual update to the Las Cruces City Council work session on May 12, saying the organization is funded primarily by the city’s 5% lodgers tax and reported $2,800,000 in lodgers-tax revenue in fiscal year 2024.

The report matters because tourism is a major local economic driver: Visit Las Cruces cited a county-level visitor spending estimate of roughly $521,000,000 from the New Mexico Tourism Department’s fiscal 2023 impact report and said tourism supports about 8.4% of jobs in Dona Ana County.

Hernandez described the Visit Las Cruces (VLC) staff and advisory board, and reviewed program priorities including sales, events, marketing and outdoor recreation. “Visit Las Cruces, a key program of the city of Las Cruces, your gateway to Southern New Mexico’s premier destination,” she said. She told councilors the office is funded “solely by lodgers tax with the exception of a couple grants,” including occasional state tourism grants and ARPA funds.

Albert Herrera, Visit Las Cruces director of sales, outlined sales markets and per‑day spending estimates used in planning: “$234 is spent per day for conventions,” he said, and estimated motor‑coach visitors spend about $165 per day, adults at sporting events about $150 per day and youth sporting groups about $128 per day. Herrera said attending industry trade shows and hosting site visits are the organization’s main methods for winning conventions and group business.

Event manager Liz Vega described VLC’s role in supporting local festivals and tourism events. She said the office produces one in‑house event, Meet Las Cruces, and supports many local producers; she reported the third annual Meet Las Cruces drew about 12,000 attendees and estimated the event’s public‑relations value at $3,800,000. Vega also highlighted the Mesilla Valley Balloon Rally, returned after a 17‑year hiatus; Visit Las Cruces listed dates for year two as January 16–19, 2026.

Marketing director Lorena Lozano reviewed completed and planned advertising efforts, noting the release of the 2025 Visit Las Cruces visitors guide (no paid ads in the guide), the completion of an ‘‘evergreen’’ commercial campaign, and plans to advertise on Disney+ and Hulu in FY26. Lozano said VLC will expand multilingual and digital editions of visitor materials and pursue targeted campaigns for tourism drivers such as wine tourism. She also introduced a new marketing specialist and described influencer and earned‑media efforts under the ‘‘Real New Mexico’’ long‑form content series.

Visit Las Cruces also reported operational highlights at the Las Cruces Convention Center including a new HD screen, new furniture and carpet, fiber‑optic Internet, a chef‑driven quarterly dining event and 25 conferences/conventions in 2024; staff said they are pacing to exceed that number in 2025.

Councilors thanked VLC staff for marketing work and for bringing conferences and large sports tournaments to the city. Mayor Pro Tem and Councilors noted visibility at the El Paso airport and the value of long‑term sales work; Councilor Curran and others praised staff efforts to attract conferences and events.

Visit Las Cruces emphasized that most advertising is targeted outside the immediate market because lodging tax rules favor out‑of‑area promotion. Hernandez reiterated allowable uses of lodgers‑tax revenue are “primarily promoting, marketing and advertising Las Cruces as a tourism destination.”

The presentation closed with questions from councilors and council praise for VLC’s awards from the New Mexico Hospitality Association; Rochelle Miller Hernandez said she was appointed by the governor to the state’s semiquincentennial commission and would work to ensure Southern New Mexico representation in 250th‑anniversary activities.

The council did not take any formal action on the presentation; the session continued to the next agenda item.