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Santa Fe County reports strong visitor spending and expands lodgers‑tax marketing and grant programs
Summary
County tourism staff reported increased lodging tax collections and outlined a FY25 marketing program leveraging the New Mexico True brand, digital advertising, PR placements and grant awards to local events and attractions.
Santa Fe County tourism staff and the Lodgers Tax Advisory Board reported fiscal year 2025 marketing results and a slate of grant awards the board funded to support local events and attractions.
Presenters said the county opted into a New Mexico Tourism Department cooperative marketing program that leveraged state buying power and generated roughly $300,000 in grant funds for co‑op media during FY25. County marketing consultants reported more than 600,000 visitor trips and about 3 million visitor days in the January–May 2025 sample period, with cumulative visitor spending of approximately $63 million for that window. Lodgers tax collections through April were reported at approximately $2.74 million and were rising year‑over‑year.
The county’s marketing strategy emphasizes “New Mexico True” statewide awareness and then uses targeted digital, print, streaming and public‑relations buys to drive consideration for Santa Fe County. Staff described a largely digital campaign (about 75 percent of the buy) targeted to markets including Texas, Colorado, California, Arizona and New Mexico, and highlighted earned media placements (national outlets cited) and increased social media engagement.
The Lodgers Tax Advisory Board awarded FY25 marketing grants to 18 organizations and piloted a tourism event/facility (TIFA) infrastructure grant to seven nonprofits for items such as portable restroom servicing and event infrastructure. Notable grant recipients include the Santa Fe Opera, SITE Santa Fe, the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival, and the Santa Fe Century bike race. Staff said they will continue pilot work on visitor data and event impact through a destination analytics provider (Datify) to better measure visitation and economic impacts of festivals and county open‑space visitation.
Commissioners asked about coordination with the City of Santa Fe to reduce duplicative visitor messaging and about ways to expand international and educational tourism partnerships. Tourism staff said they recently began closer collaboration with the city’s lodging tax advisory board and noted upcoming expansion into the San Francisco Bay Area as part of an FY26 initiative. The board recommended further work to measure open space visitation and to align infrastructure investment (sidewalks, transit) around key sites to support visitor access.
The presentation was informational; no formal board action was required.
