Southern NM’s tourism economy looks promising in 2019

COMMENTARY: You haven’t needed to make reservations in the Truth or Consequences I’ve been visiting for the past several years. So my girlfriend and I arrived in town on New Year’s Eve with plans to attend an event at the downtown brewery — but without having yet purchased tickets.

We were surprised to learn that the event sold out earlier that day and we needed new plans. We ended up dining at billionaire Ted Turner’s Sierra Grande Lodge & Spa.

The restaurant was full. Sarah and I ate bison and antelope harvested from Turner’s nearby ranches. Our meals were on par with food you’d expect at high-end restaurants in Santa Fe and Taos.

Then we joined dozens of people at the downtown plaza to raise a turtle into the sky while steam rose from a hot springs fountain nearby. True to T or C, the turtle ascended at 10 p.m. “It’s midnight eastern time,” somebody pointed out.

T or C is changing, in part because the new brewery has filled an important hole downtown. The most popular places to stay regularly fill up. The number of available beds on Airbnb has exploded. We saw license plates from many different states around town.

This offbeat town is no longer one of New Mexico’s best-kept secrets. And while the entire state has seen increased tourism in recent years, our trip to T or C had me thinking about the recent public and private investments in southern New Mexico that add to the potential here.

There’s the outdoors economy. Anyone who regularly visits the Organ Mountains has witnessed the increase in visitors since former President Barack Obama made them a national monument in 2014. The designation has meant improved roads and other infrastructure. I’ve visited with folks from as far away as Alabama who came to see the monument.

There’s the film industry. Netflix and Disney have recently filmed television shows in T or C. Clint Eastwood’s film The Mule reportedly had an economic impact of $1.3 million during the six days filming took place around Las Cruces.

Las Cruces’ downtown, like T or C’s, is on the upswing. A new brewery/distillery, some good restaurants and other businesses draw people. The plaza has become a prime gathering space. More businesses are under construction.

There’s Spaceport America. The public spending on this project has been hefty and the insistence on secrecy has been controversial — and we’re about to learn whether our investment will pay off. Last month, Virgin Galactic’s spaceship finally reached suborbital space (by the definition used by the U.S. Air Force) during a test flight in California.

Virgin Galactic has more than doubled its staff in Las Cruces in the past two years. The company plans to move dozens more workers here this year as it prepares to launch paying customers from Spaceport America.

Our public spending on the spaceport has already spurred private investments that boost tourism. Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces underwent dramatic renovations to prepare for Virgin Galactic’s high-dollar space tourists and their entourages. In T or C, Turner’s Sierra Grande Lodge has made improvements too.

To top it all off, New Mexico will likely soon legalize recreational marijuana. That will add to southern New Mexico’s draw, especially for tourists from nearby El Paso, Texas and travelers along Interstate 10. Recreational marijuana seems a natural fit for T or C and its quirky reputation, hot springs and lakes.

At the start of 2019, things are looking up for southern New Mexico’s tourism economy.

Heath Haussamen is NMPolitics.net’s editor and publisher. Agree with his opinion? Disagree? NMPolitics.net welcomes your views. Learn about submitting your own commentary here.