The 2007-08 edition of the Official Las Cruces Visitors Guide will be available this month. The 64 page book features a variety of information for anyone visiting Las Cruces including: hotels, restaurants, attractions, recreational and sports facilities, transportation information and a map. This year's guide will be 8.5 x 11 instead of the smaller 6 x 9 from previous years. If you would like a copy, contact the CVB at cvb@lascrucescvb.org or 541-2444.

Four lucky winners walked away with Las Cruces vacation packages as part of the CVB's annual National Tourism Week celebration this past May 12- 20, 2007. This year's winners were: Joyce Allen from Granbury, TX, Carol Noel from Madison, WI, Betty Roth from Philadelphia, PA and Tami McNaughton from Las Vegas, NV. Each winner received a night's stay at a local hotel, dinner at a local restaurant and a round of golf at Sonoma Ranch Golf Course.

The vacation packages were just one of many things the CVB did to promote awareness of the importance of tourism in Las Cruces and Mesilla. Posters reading "America's Front Door (the national theme for this year's event), National Tourism Week, May 12-20, 2007," were distributed to various locations around town. The CVB also hosted its annual National Tourism Week open house on Wednesday, May 16, giving out door prizes like pens, chile stress relievers, meals at local restaurants and a restaurant discount card. In support, the CVB ran ads in the Las Cruces Sun News and on several local radio stations promoting the open house and National Tourism Week. The CVB staff also appeared on several radio station talk shows and morning shows including the Michael Swickard Show on AM 570 KGRT's morning show and the 101 Gold morning show. This year, in recognition of their hard work promoting tourism in Las Cruces, the CVB gave every hotel employee in Las Cruces a gift certificate for a free Caliche.

The CVB would like to thank: Stahmann's Country Store, Branigan Cultural Center, Fort Selden State, Monument, Las Cruces Farmers and Crafts Market, Las Cruces Museum of Natural History, Town of Mesilla, La Posta, La Quinta Inn, Ramada Palms, Dream Catcher Inn B&B, SpringHill Suites, Caliches, Las Cruces Museum of Art, Emerald Isle, Sonoma Ranch Golf Course, Eddies Bar & Grill, Blue Agave Café, El Paisano Café, Denny's, Cha Chi's, Pepper Mill, Sunset Grill and Big Chair Café for their support of National Tourism Week.

Arturo Ruiz is the bureau's new Distribution Specialist. Arturo is responsible for keeping track of the bureau's inventory, distributing brochures locally and state wide, assisting departments in fulfilling information requests and coordinating bulk mailings. He can be contacted at 541-2165 or aruiz@las-cruces.org.

The contract for advertising between the CVB and award winning advertising agency Rick Johnson & Company (RJC) has been awarded for one more year. This contract will run through 2008. RJC has been the bureau's advertising agency since 2001 when they developed the crossroads campaign to promote Las Cruces to the leisure travel market as well as to tourism industry professionals. Print advertisements regularly appear in publications such as: Where to Retire, Travel 50 & Beyond, New Mexico Vacation Guide, Meeting Planner Guide, Meetings West, New Mexico Business Journal, The Group Travel Leader and Travel Weekly. The campaign was also the recipient of two 2004 Tourism Industry Association Recognition Awards from the Tourism Association of New Mexico for best print advertising and best outdoor advertisement.

The CVB's billboard in Albuquerque in now up and running! The board, which will be used primarily to promote local events, is a shared digital billboard that gives the CVB the chance to rotate between several events at once. The billboard also marks a change in the bureau's special event funding policy. The previous policy gave events the chance to apply for matching funds from the bureau to assist them in promoting their events outside the local area. Now, events will automatically be featured on the billboard, giving them exposure in the state's largest city which is often a market to expensive for many events to reach. To find out how to get your tourism related event on the billboard, contact the Convention and Visitors Bureau at lccvb@lascru cescvb.org.

The CVB Tourism and Media Departments recently attended the 39th annual International Pow Wow hosted by the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) and held in Anaheim, CA from May 22-26, 2007. During the four-day trade show, the CVB was able to network with buyers from countries around the world including Mexico, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan, Korea, and South Africa, just to name a few. In addition, the Media Department participated in Media Marketplace, a one-day event designed to bring destination media representatives together with domestic and international travel journalists to increase worldwide awareness of domestic destinations. Las Cruces was well received by the international and domestic journalists and there was tremendous response for a familiarization tour in 2008.

Sports Sales Manager Ed Carnathan attended the National Association of Sports Commissions Symposium in Dallas, TX April 16-20, 2007. He attended industry seminars that focused on ways to attract more sporting events to our community as well as how to work with sports organizations. He was also able to make numerous contacts with a variety of sport organizations.

The Hampton Inn and Suites located at the corner of Griggs and Triviz is now open. The property features 73 rooms and suites, equipped with refrigerators, microwaves and high-speed internet, free hot breakfast, an indoor pool, business center and workout facilities. Belia Alvarez is the General Manager.

Also currently under construction and scheduled to open in 2007 is the Value Place, schedule to open this month, the new Holiday Inn Express on Valley Dr. set to open in the fall and the 85 room Drury Inn & Suites on Hickory Loop near the SpringHill Suites is set to open in July.

The city is planning a celebration to commemorate the Las Cruces' 100th year of incorporation as the City of Las Cruces. While plans are still in the works, we can tell you that events will be held downtown on November 16-17, 2007 and ending with a ceremony at the City Council meeting on November 19. So mark you calendar and stay tuned for more details.