Tourism looking for data to determine Navajo impact
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez
WINDOW ROCK
In 2016 New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez announced a four-year growth trend in tourism on the New Mexico side, but has the Navajo Nation experienced such a boost?
The short answer is, we don’t know.
“New Mexico is the most beautiful state in the country. And now, because of our tourism efforts, more people than ever before are visiting our state and spending more of their money in our communities,” Martinez said in a news release.
The Navajo Tourism Department works with New Mexico True and the state’s tourism department to promote sites and tourism opportunities in New Mexico on the Navajo Nation.
“New Mexico True allows us to showcase adventures all around the Land of Enchantment that truly feed the soul like no other state is able to do,” Martinez said. “As a result, we’re breaking tourism records and sharing our unique culture, scenic vistas, unrivaled ski slopes and, of course, our green chile.”
Arval T. McCabe, director of the Navajo Tourism Department, said the infrastructure to measure whether the Navajo Nation has received a similar boost isn’t in place.
Although that means he is unsure if the Navajo Nation experienced a spike, he knows the Navajo Nation contributed to the growth in New Mexico.
“We contribute a lot, because of the Gallup area, because of the Farmington area,” he said. “People want to visit the Shiprock pinnacle, they want to see Four Corners, and a lot of them stay in Farmington and they go through to see Monument Valley, but we don’t really know what those numbers are.”
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