Numerous lesser reasons, including business trips doubling as vacations, also account for visits. Despite a sharp increase in Indian gambling operations, wagering lies far down the list of reasons people choose to visit the state. If you believe that service sector jobs are a welcome alternative to 'smokestack industry' employment, chronic joblessness and public assistance, then you'll agree tourism enhances the state's quality of life. Another ten percent of visitors come from Arizona, Oklahoma and Illinois. Texans have long been New Mexico's tourist leaders.
Proximity is the easy explanation.
The western third of their state wraps New Mexico, and it's an easy drive and an easier airline hop. Close to two thirds of tourists come to New Mexico by auto, with nearly 10 percent of them traveling by RV or camper. Marketing New Mexico is, like tourism itself, an active industry marked by the efforts of numerous people and communities. It's an easy sell, but the pitch is ongoing. Print ads are the primary mode the state uses to entice people to come.