NM Tourism as an Economic Initiative: The Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau's Mary Kay Cline, estimates that about five million visitors pass through Albuquerque each year. And because Albuquerque accounts for about half of the gross receipts brought into the state via tourism dollars, about $2.3 billion around New Mexico. Cline says there are probably an additional five million visitors who go through the rest of the state. Tourists vacationing in the Land of Enchantment spend about $100 a day: money spent on food, hotels, rental cars and shopping. But critics say many of the 53,000 jobs provided for New Mexicans by the tourism dollar are only minimum wage or manual labor. Still, despite New Mexico's dependence on tourism for much of its revenue, no state dept. has found an accurate means of keeping track of how many people visit the state, for how long, and why they come to the area. Pamela Hansen of New Mexico's Tourism and Travel Division says keeping good data of the number of tourists coming into the state is difficult because there are no turnstyles set up at points of interest frequented by visitors. However, rational planning for hotels or resort towns is difficult without concrete data. Guests: Pamela Hansen, Marketing Information Specialist NM Tourism and Travel Division, Mary Kay Cline, Director of Tourism Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau.
