Gallup Tourism Jennifer Lazarz

GALLUPTourism

By Jennifer Lazarz

The COVID-19 crisis has impacted our families, friends, all levels of business, jobs, the economy, and has left an indelible mark on our community. As time has passed, Americans are no longer asking the question, “When will things return to normal?” But now, “What is normal?” as the effects of the pandemic continue to harm our community. COVID-19 hasn’t killed the tourism sector, but it has tried. The U.S. Travel Association reports that: “Since the beginning of March, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in $297 billion in losses for the U.S. TravelEconomy.”1

Locally, we have feltthe same losses that are happening on a national scale. The Gallup Real True tourism and marketing office markets Gallup as a great destination for outdoor adventures, art lovers, and culture seekers for 365-days-a-year, not just a place to visit for our signature events (though those are important and we hope can rebound in the future).

This means that our strategic tourism partners include hotels, restaurants, retail businesses, auto shops, grocery stores, coffee shops and more. Tourism has a direct and indirect impact on businesses throughout our community, and the advent of COVID-19 has hurt not only our hotels (and thus, lodger’s tax revenues), but any businesses that served the greater travel community along the I-40 corridor. Our hotel occupancy very low and the loss of those valuable dollars spent by guests to the community is felt in just about every business sector in Gallup.

Our community is facing challenges unlike any we’ve faced before. We have to recover from not only the pandemic itself, but the reputation of being a COVID-19 hot spot, complete with a lockdown and the highest infection rate in New Mexico. The City Tourism and Marketing Department worked closely with the City Management at the beginning of the pandemic to establish not only local communication lines, but to centralize our national media talking points. While we can’t change that we have been a hot spot, national news anchors complimented our mayor for his concerned responsiveness to the COVID-19 situation because it was unmatched by any area in the US. We have been praised on MSNBC’s Brian Williams show by the mayor of Boston for leading the way in terms of safety and concern for our residents and neighboring communities. These national media sound bites might be small, but they matter in the big picture.

The news isn’t all negative. The City of Gallup has been featured in the platform RediscoverAmerica.com. We were named one of “5 U.S. Towns you’ve Probably Never Heard of, but Should Visit” last month on TravelNoire.com. Edible Magazine did a multi-page spread about restaurants and the food culture of Gallup in their Spring 2020 issue. Group Tour Magazine featured an itinerary page entirely about Gallup in their September 2020 issue.

These are just a few highlights of positive coverage for our community that have come out during the pandemic. (You can find all of these articles and more at https://galluprealtrue.com/the-real-gallup/gallup-in-the-news).

During this time while we don’t have events and active tourism, the City’s Tourism and Marketing Department has expanded its services to the community. The Gallup Google DMO program is now live. What does this mean? This integral program was funded in support with the New Mexico Tourism Department and aims to help your business show up higher in search results and to manage business reviews. Your Google online business profile is the single largest source of organic exposure for your business online. Up-to-date profiles on Google, Yelp, and TripAdvisor are 2.7 times more likely to be considered reputable, and 70% more likely to attract location visits. The City’s Tourism and Marketing Manager will work with you to maximize your digital footprint. ANY business in Gallup can call 505-863-1227 or email jlazarz@gallupnm.govand request an appointment to help update your Google listings, hours, websites, social media and more. These appointments and services are FREE to ANY business, and can be done in person or digitally, meeting in the way the business owner is most comfortable.

Tourism and Marketing money has also been reallocated to where it matters most. We are moving away from print advertising for the time being (due to the prohibitive cost) and buying radio airtime throughout the I-40 corridor in three states to tell people that Gallup welcomes their business. Our billboards in Arizona will be changing to showcase the message “Gallup – We’re Open”. We also purchased digital advertising that will show up on social media and other online platforms to target people on their mobile devices and in-home.

Tourism will rebound in our community. The City’s Tourism and Marketing Department is working collaboratively with agencies regionally, statewide, and on a national level to evaluate the next steps in driving visitation to our community, bringing traveler spending that promotes economic activity which creates and supports local jobs.

1 https://www.ustravel.org/sites/default/files/ media_root/document/ Coronavirus_WeeklyImpacts_07.23.20.pdf

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