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Destination El Paso briefs council on tourism, says city leads state in hotel occupancy and is pursuing conventions, film and events
Summary
Destination El Paso reported to council that tourism produces roughly $2.3 billion in direct economic impact and that El Paso leads the state in hotel occupancy; the agency outlined marketing, conventions, sports and film outreach to increase visitor-driven revenue.
Destination El Paso (Visit El Paso / El Paso Live) gave a briefing to the council on May 13 outlining marketing activity, visitation numbers and facility programming aimed at increasing visitor spending in the city.
Jose Garcia, president and CEO of Destination El Paso, and Brooke Underwood, director of Visit El Paso, told the council the travel and tourism sector produces roughly $2.3 billion in direct economic impact for El Paso annually and supports more than 32,000 local jobs. Garcia noted the city has about 10,400 hotel rooms citywide, roughly 1,200 downtown, and said El Paso's average hotel occupancy is about 73%, higher than state and national averages.
Brooke Underwood described Visit El Paso's marketing approach: a multichannel program combining broad-brand advertising, targeted digital and social media campaigns, trade-show outreach to tour operators and travel professionals, and earned-media work. She told council the organization recorded roughly 1.1 million unique website visits and quantified earned-media reach that Destination El Paso estimates at about $5.1 million in value.
The presentation emphasized several promotion and development streams: - Convention and meetings sales: aggressive outreach to associations and sports-event rights holders; packaging downtown venues and regional assets to deliver convention business even when a single large, contiguous convention hall is not available. - Sports and events recruitment: attendance boosters and outreach to national sports-rights organizations (e.g., boxing, track and field, pickleball) that drive weekend hotel stays. - Film and creative industries: permitting and film‑production support; Destination El Paso staff and a dedicated local liaison (Drew Mayer Oaks) work to attract and assist productions and to pursue state incentives. - El Paso Live facilities and events programming: management of the convention center, the Abraham Chavez Theatre, the Plaza Theatre, Arts Festival Plaza and McKelligan Canyon Amphitheater; examples include the Broadway in El Paso series and the Sun City Craft Beer Fest.
Council members asked about selling nontraditional convention formats for meetings that cannot be contained under 1 roof; Underwood said the office emphasizes the benefit of using multiple downtown venues and local off-site options so attendees experience the city rather than remain segregated in a single facility. Council members also raised local concerns such as water-park pricing and pool closures; Garcia said parks are promoted as affordable family attractions and that staff run occasional special promotions.
Destination El Paso closed by sharing a new promotional video produced with local talent and thanked the council for its support. Several council members praised the agency's outreach and encouraged continued coordination with the city's capital and event planning efforts.
