'NM True' campaign has 3-to-1 return

New Mexico tourism says new campaign yielded 3-to-1 return

Jeri Clausing, Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- The state tourism department says its $1.2 million "New Mexico True" campaign has brought taxpayers $3 for every dollar spent. And Tourism Secretary Monique Jacobson says she will use those numbers to seek a doubling of her department's advertising budget.

A recent study by the national research firm Longwoods International shows the effort launched in April brought back $3.6 million in state and local taxes. It also produced 264,000 additional trips and generated $35.1 million in additional visitor spending.

Jacobson said she will use the study to support her request that lawmakers double her department's annual advertising budget to $5 million so she can expand the campaign's reach beyond the regional drive market and to cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and possibly New York.