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The economic
and political turmoil of 2001 sent shockwaves through the
meetings and travel industry, causing significant rearrangement
of both leisure and meetings travel patterns. Albuquerque,
New Mexico had a building meetings economy and a steady (but
largely regional) leisure travel economy going into 2001.
The events of 2001 and the resulting imbalance between supply
and demand in the meetings market caused Albuquerque’s
convention business to take a nose dive. Through 2004,
convention business had not recovered.
Albuquerque
Convention and Visitors Bureau, under contract with the city,
brought in Egret Communications in late 2005 to facilitate the
development of a destination master plan. Egret worked
with the industry, the city, and destination partners to
identify the issues impacting performance of both the leisure
and meetings segments of the hospitality market and to find
opportunities for Albuquerque’s hospitality industry future.
Egret brought international perspective to the table while
facilitating discussions between a wide spectrum of industry,
public sector, and tribal interests.
The Albuquerque
Destination Master Plan was rolled out in March 2006, with a
strong partnership between public and private sectors. The
plan, Albuquerque’s first destination master plan, focuses on
Albuquerque’s key strengths of culture and heritage, climate and
landscape, and its unique relationship with hot air ballooning.
Under the plan, Albuquerque will establish and promote a brand
based on its strengths, will build stronger relationships with
key interest-driven travel markets, will improve its ability to
deliver quality experiences (especially to travelers interested
in Pueblo and Spanish heritage and culture), and will build
tighter relationships between the hospitality industry and local
government.
The planning
process stimulated concrete changes that will impact visitor
experience and local economics. The destination has
restructured the visitor experience for Old Town, dramatically
changing hours of operation and visitor retail, entertainment,
and dining experiences.
Updates:
In the first
year after the rollout of the new Destination Master Plan
Albuquerque's tourism economy grew by a quarter billion dollars.
At the end of the first year, ACVB led a community review of the
progress, checked off accomplishments, set new targets, and
refined teams and leadership. The industry and its public
and private partners continue to build momentum and improve the
quality of Albuquerque's tourism experience - and the
profitability of the destination.
Text from
Albuquerque's Destination Master Plan
Public
site designed to create transparency and momentum through
the destination master planning process. Note: this site
has not been updated since the plan was rolled out in March,
2006.
PowerPoint from
year one review
after implementation (large file that loads slowly)
Egret led the third renewal planning
session for Albuquerque's Destination Master Plan in July 2009. |
