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County staff reports mixed progress on tourism strategic plan; visitor‑center, wayfinding and shuttle projects remain active
Summary
County staff provided a status update on tourism strategic plan action items (sections 1.1 and 1.2), reporting completed, ongoing, in‑progress and inactive items; staff also reported declines at White Rock Visitor Center tied to shuttle changes and described wayfinding and visitor‑center relocation issues tied to federal park projects.
Los Alamos County staff told the Lodgers Tax Advisory Board on July 15 that review of the tourism strategic plan shows a mixture of completed work, ongoing efforts and items that remain in progress or inactive.
Ellen, a county staff member reporting to the board, summarized progress for plan sections 1.1 (marketing) and 1.2 (visitor experience). “When you look at it from the whole for 1.1 and 1.2 together, provided I did my math correctly, there are 6 that are totally completed. 15 of these action items are considered continuous…1 that's pending, 7 that are in progress, and 3 that are considered inactive. Altogether, that's 33 items,” she told the board.
Ellen said completed items include a version of the Los Alamos brand action plan and elements of the Science‑is‑Our‑Culture work used in prior marketing, while continuous items include regular contact with regional tour operators and hotel concierges and maintenance of promotional kiosks. Items listed as inactive include the Atomic Trail designation effort and participation in one regional air alliance, which staff said no longer provided sufficient deliverables for the county’s contribution.
Staff also outlined several projects in progress. The county plans new interpretive video work and a refresh of some visitor‑facing signage. The county reported that plans for a permanent visitor center location are on hold pending completion of a dormitory renovation associated with Manhattan Project National Historical Park work at the same site; a White Rock Visitor Center refresh was completed in spring 2024 and phase 2 (food‑truck pads) is anticipated to begin in 2026, county staff said.
On transportation and visitor access, staff described an incomplete pilot to connect the Bandelier shuttle to downtown Los Alamos and the White Rock Visitor Center. “A pilot project was supposed to start for weekends… but due to capacity restraints, it was no longer done,” Ellen said, noting staffing and agreement changes with the park as reasons the project did not run.
Board members raised operational questions. Melanie, who provided kiosk and visitation reports during the meeting, said visitor counts show Los Alamos visitation remains strong while White Rock visitation has dipped; she attributed the White Rock decline in part to the Bandelier shuttle not stopping at the visitor center this season. Melanie said the White Rock Visitor Center averages 30–40 people a day while Los Alamos averages about 100 people a day.
Staff described actions to improve wayfinding. A new phase of signage has begun, and traffic/streets staff were installing signs at Main Gate Park; the county is re‑evaluating downtown kiosk designs and exploring digital signage as a more maintainable option. Ellen also noted ongoing collaboration with the Bradbury Science Museum and the Los Alamos History Museum on interpretation plans and a Fuller Lodge interpretation plan that remains active.
Several board members asked for more detailed responses to previously submitted questions and for the staff status matrix to be made part of the meeting record. Staff said they will assemble responses into a single follow‑up document and that materials could be included with the minutes if provided to staff for the record.
No formal board action was taken on the strategic plan items during the meeting; staff said further review and discussion will continue at future meetings.
