White Rock Visitor Center Welcomes Record Numbers

Visitors board the Bandelier Shuttle. Photo by Katy Korkos

LAMVB News:

Breaking all previous records, 1,917 people visited the White Rock Visitor Center over Memorial Day Weekend.

The Los Alamos Meeting and Visitor Bureau reports that the confirmed tally includes visitors who used the facility between May 24 and May 27. The busiest days were Sunday and Monday with 670 people visiting the facilty on Sunday alone.

“It was an unbelievable experience,” said Mike Lippiatt, Los Alamos meeting and bureau manager. “There were times when we had 40 or more visitors in the center and at the same time there would be 20 or 30 at the shuttle waiting area.”

This new record shatters previous weekend records. In May 2012, the Visitor Center at its old location of at Rover Boulevard welcomed 395 visitors during the entire month.

The beginning of the Atomic City Transit summer schedule with service to Bandelier National Monument is a chief reason for the increase in visits, Lippiatt said. The shuttle service to Bandelier begins at the White Rock Visitor Center.

The Meeting and Visitor Bureau also reported visitors checked in to the center from as far away as Australia, Italy and South Korea.

“It’s hard to explain how fulfilling it is to visit with people from all corners of our country and the world. They were amazing people with amazing stories and they all came through our town, county and attractions over the weekend,” Lippiatt said.

The White Rock Visitor Center Complex opened Sept. 28, 2012 and has consistently out-performed previous visitor numbers.

It is staffed by a team of paid employees and a growing number of volunteers who spend much of their time fielding questions and directing out-of-town visitors to key local attractions and local businesses.

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