Taos council hears film-office briefing, visitor-data report as leaders weigh permitting and local priorities

The Taos Town Council received a presentation from Santa Fe film commissioner Jennifer LaVar Tapia and a separate report on 2024 visitor data from newly appointed Taos marketing and tourism director Chris Kirst at its March 11 regular meeting.

The Santa Fe film-office briefing described how a regional film office supports productions by providing permitting, location scouting, vendor and crew connections, community outreach and confidentiality for in-production projects. Tapia, who said Santa Fe’s regional office operates under a city–county memorandum of agreement and a roughly $350,000 annual budget shared equally by those jurisdictions, outlined the state film-incentive structure (a baseline 25% refundable credit on qualified in‑state expenses with possible uplifts for qualified facilities, episodic productions and rural locations) and stressed permitting, insurance and set-safety requirements. She also described efforts to connect local students and businesses to film opportunities and a location directory being developed for Northern New Mexico.

The presentation prompted councilors to press staff about Taos’s readiness to receive film inquiries. Marketing director Kirst and Assistant Town Manager Flores both said Taos currently lacks a formal local permitting system and that staff would prefer an interim, collaborative approach before proposing a stand‑alone film office. Kirst suggested placing a permitting liaison in the visitor center and coordinating permitting reviews across planning, public works, police and fire; Flores said permitting, inspections and liability protections are the essential priorities. Tapia recommended regional collaboration with nearby film offices and stressed early community notification and clear agreements about restoring or improving locations after production.

Kirst also presented Taos visitor data for 2024 compiled from the Datify service and municipal financial records. The key figures she presented: 961,453 visitor trips to Taos in 2024, a 7% decline from 2023, and an average length of stay of 2.4 days (down 20%). Kirst said 34% of trips were day trips; the town’s busiest visitor days are Saturday, Friday and Sunday. Top feeder states were Texas, New Mexico and Colorado; top city markets by visitor days and spending were Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Lodgers-tax receipts are holding near budgeted levels so far this fiscal year, but Kirst warned that higher room rates could be driving revenue increases tied to inflation rather than stronger visitation. She also highlighted a substantial drop in planned local marketing and advertising spending in recent years and said she intends to restore marketing activity and build an updated plan that emphasizes authentic storytelling, partnerships with Pueblo vendors and targeted outreach to potential flight markets for the Taos regional airport.

Council members raised questions about oversight, authenticity of marketing imagery, and community priorities. Several councilors asked Kirst to prioritize local businesses and cultural authenticity in advertising and to move quickly to reopen and staff the visitor center on peak days; Kirst said she has already reopened the visitor center on Saturdays and plans to add merchandising and artist programming. Councilors also asked about staffing: Kirst said she is an office of one, expects to add a film coordinator this fiscal year and seeks a third position in fiscal 2026.

Manager and staff remarks: Assistant Town Manager Flores and Town Manager Denise Martinez reported department activities, including progress on airport terminal and parking rehabilitation design, landfill compliance work, and public-works field projects. Flores said the Herdern sewer-line rehabilitation project will start March 17 and last about six to eight weeks.

Council direction and next steps: Council members requested follow-up actions including (1) exploring an interim permitting framework so Taos can respond to film inquiries without a full office in place, (2) having staff develop a lodgers‑tax “101” briefing (to compare town and county approaches and clarify statutory limitations on marketing expenditures), and (3) restoring marketing spend and local‑first storytelling in the town’s tourism work. Marketing director Kirst and staff indicated they will coordinate with Santa Fe’s film office and report back with options for a town permitting process and staffing. Tapia offered ongoing consultation and said Santa Fe’s permitting platform and regional location directory are models Taos could adapt.

Votes at the meeting unrelated to the presentations included: approval of a task order for engineering services for airport terminal parking-lot rehabilitation and a liquor-license approval for Montez Chow Cart (beer and wine, on-premise with patio). Those action items were part of the meeting’s consent and action items and were recorded on the official agenda.