SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico tourism officials are closing four visitor centers, including the Raton Center next month.
The state Tourism Department confirmed Friday that the closures will take effect Oct. 7 and attributed part of the decision to the greater role that mobile devices and online media play in travel planning.
Visitor centers in Raton, La Bajada, Chama and Anthony will be affected, while facilities in Santa Fe, Lordsburg, Glenrio and Manuelito will remain open.
Because of the state’s budget crunch, Gov. Susana Martinez recently called for state agencies to cut budgets by at least 5 percent.
The tourism centers are staffed by state workers who hand out maps and advise travelers.
Tourism Department spokeswoman Heather Briganti says visits to all eight facilities have dropped significantly in recent years.
The closing of the Raton Visitor’s Center will effect the three current employees at the center. In Raton, the tourism building is shared with the Chamber of Commerce and how this will effect those operations remains to be seen as the chamber runs on a limited budget. The City of Raton Lodger’s tax monies helps to fund much of the chamber operations. On the Raton City Commission agenda is this item at Tuesday’s meeting;
- Performance Evaluation of the Raton Chamber of Commerce Responsibilities under the Memorandum of Understanding for Tourism Coordinator Services.
A story in the Santa Fe New Mexican reports many visitor’s centers in neighboring states are run by private business or municipalities.
As part of the story, a letter from the New Mexico Tourism Secretary, Rebecca Latham, was sent out on Monday:
| Tourism Industry Partners,
Friday was a difficult day for the tourism department as we met with staff from our visitor information centers to tell them that, in anticipation of a determination being made by the State Personnel Board on September 20, four of the centers will be closing after October 7. This decision was not made lightly, and just as I wanted the staff and communities being impacted to have more than the required notice, I want each of you to hear from me what went into this decision. The department has been monitoring visitation at the centers in New Mexico and our surrounding states for quite some time. Despite annual visitation to New Mexico reaching an all-time high in 2015, use of the state-run visitor centers has taken a sharp decrease over the past six years (-52% between 2009 and 2015). New Mexico is not the only state seeing a drop in visitor center traffic; roughly 11% of states report no longer having state-operated visitor centers due to the increasing popularity of mobile devices and social media reviews in trip planning. On the flip side, several surrounding states have seen an uptick in visitation by changing the models in which their centers operate. As communities have become more involved with the state-owned centers in their areas, the locations have become more relevant and popular. In Colorado, Arizona and Utah nearly all “state welcome centers” are managed by community partners through MOU. This enables communities to have more control over the hours and information distributed, offering a better visitor experience tailored to what attractions and events are in their region… often with little to no overhead because the state owns the building, furniture, fixtures, etc. That said, this is an opportunity to realize the success being seen in surrounding states through community partnerships. Dialogue is ongoing with local governments, chambers of commerce, and volunteer organizations to continue operations in the facilities in Chama, Raton, La Bajada and Anthony. We are encouraged by the interest thus far, and look forward to finding new and innovative ways to meet visitor needs in New Mexico. As for the employees being impacted, please know that through the State Personnel Office and our own network we are doing everything possible to place them in new positions ASAP. If you are in need of a qualified and professional employee with a background in customer service and tourism, we encourage you to give one of these employees a chance. Please tell us of any positions you have available in the North Central, Northeast, or Southwest region so we can connect these employees to your HR staff for information on how to apply. Lastly, we will be working with our staff in Glenrio, Manuelito, Santa Fe and Lordsburg on ways to expand the visitor experience in those four information centers. Our VIC team will be going through the statewide hospitality training course offered by the NM Hospitality Association to ensure they have the most up-to-date information on events and attractions around the state, and we will be looking to host interpretive exhibits and demonstrations at the centers to encourage a more robust experience as guests enter New Mexico or visit the City Different. I want to thank you for your continued work to grow tourism in New Mexico, and I look forward to our industry rising to the challenges presented during these tight times. Sincerely, Rebecca Latham |
This is absolutly ridiculus. Raton is already a ghost town. Why is the state letting it happen? We need help not more negative impact. It is getting bad.
This news is so sad…..
Raton continues on is spiraling decline. How sad that they would even think to close the Visitor Center when Raton is the “GATEWAY TO THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT”. Raton is slowly turning into a ghost town. What are the leaders in that town doing to save it? Seems like nothing. Born and raised in that town, it is definitely not the same town it was. Very sad.
Absolutely! This is a critical area for bringing tourism into New Mexico and Raton is a stronghold for bringing people in in both states. Please please reconsider that this implication of what looks to be only three jobs is actually a major disaster for Raton and the entire state of New Mexico…let’s get quick with this.
Another boarded up building. Just what Raton needs.
Hey, what are you thinking… Raton sits at the top of the state of New Mexico and is the first NM town tourists see as they head down from Colorado and is the first tourist office people see coming from Texas to Colorado (no tourist office in Clayton). You need to rethink this decision.