By SHERRY ROBINSON
All She Wrote
My plan was simple. I was going to meet my brother and his family at a favorite haunt in western Colorado. I’m no longer 50, when I drove great distances without a care, so I figured I’d drive as far as I could, grab a motel room and finish the next day. It was the road trip from hell.
Here it is in a nutshell: Cloudbursts that caused lines of travelers to hunker down on the roadside with their flashers on, mobs of tourists in Colorado, and ordinary motels charging $300 a night – the going rate, and that’s if you could find a room. Add to that road construction in Salida that made it impossible for a stranger to get through town. And a corrupted Google maps app barking out the wrong directions. And a $300 room with walls so thin, the couple having sex in the next room should have asked if it was good for me too.
Driving back the next day, I could only ask myself, why on earth do people go there?
And in droves. In Colorado you can eat the same bland food you find anywhere and escape into nature with a hundred companions crowding the trails. Colorado is not only overdone, over- exposed and over-priced, it’s boring!
As a Colorado native, I can say New Mexico has everything Colorado has and so much more – a beautiful and varied landscape, the cultural treasures of our Native American and Hispanic residents, a vastly more interesting history, and a vigorous art scene. Where else can you find in one place: hoodoos, caverns, opera, little green men, Billy the Kid, hot springs, hot air balloons, Route 66 and a duck race? Icing on the cake: Buy jewelry directly from Native American artisans.
If the tapped-out Colorado tourists drove south a couple of hours, they would find Ojo Caliente, Chama, Taos, Raton, Angel Fire, Red River and Farmington – each with excellent offerings and ready to entertain you without breaking the bank. Drive farther south and discover a great deal more.
Many feel this way. On Reddit I found this post: “Why isn’t New Mexico as popular as Colorado or Texas? I recently visited New Mexico and was blown away by its natural beauty.
All the places I drove to like Carlsbad, Cloudcroft, White Sands, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe – the scenery was absolutely stunning… Why isn’t New Mexico bigger as a tourist destination or economically? It feels like such an underrated gem with so much to offer.”
Here are a few responses:
“Colorado is stupid expensive and, well, Texas is Texas. No thanks.”
“I know! I went this year and I so enjoyed it. I loved the fact that it wasn’t overrun with people. Got a solid dose of peace and quiet!”
“Me too!!! Less traffic, not too many people, small scenic towns. What’s not to love?”
“For folks looking to get away and connect with nature, it’s perfect. Ski resorts aren’t sold out, the mountains are just as beautiful as Colorado (fight me)… Texas has barely any (national) parks the size of what we have here… I’m a transplant and I love New Mexico with all my heart.”
Also commenting were many New Mexicans who like being undiscovered. These two posts were typical: “Shhhhhhhhhh” and “Good. Stay away. Shoo.”
Back in New Mexico, I learn that we’re even less discovered than usual this year. After breaking records in 2024 with 42.6 million visitors who spent $8.8 billion, our tourism has taken a hit. International visitation is off and people of modest means are staying home. Considering that tourism employs 95,219 people, or 8.1% of the state’s workforce, this is concerning.
Foreign guests are only 1.8% of New Mexico’s visitors, but they spend five times as much as Americans, according to the state Tourism Department. Canadians represent the biggest decrease. Why? Make a wild guess.
The travel press also blames inflation, rising airfares, and the overall cost of travel.
Surprisingly, tourism in Taos declined two years in a row, according to the Taos News, because of construction on the town’s major arterial, a dry winter and political uncertainty. Said one business owner: “The times are incredibly uncertain and people are scared.”
Even powerhouse Santa Fe has seen visitation slip. The city’s tourism executive attributes it to economic uncertainty.
I’d like to see New Mexico’s promoters focus on Colorado and its hordes of exploited tourists. It shouldn’t be too hard to lure some of them to New Mexico. We would only be a bit less undiscovered.