Tax board hears remodel proposal

The Tucumcari Chamber of Commerce building would double as a visitor center in a proposal the chamber’s director sketched out generally Tuesday to the city’s Lodgers Tax Advisory Board.

Scott Crotzer, the chamber’s director, seeks to remodel chamber headquarters into a tourist center with displays, maps and other features, including distribution of the city’s visitor guide and its mural map.

“The idea is to keep them here a few hours longer,” Crotzer said.

Crotzer said his plan is to offer a friendly atmosphere to welcome visitors and to add features to the chamber headquarters building to make it an example of the historic architectural and design reflecting the city’s Route 66 history.

Robyne Beaubien, the city’s marketing consultant, gave the board tourism promotion plans for the city.

Beaubien referenced $70,000 in promotion dollars for the current fiscal year, with $46,609.67 from a New Mexico Department of Tourism grant and a city match of $23,304.83.

Beaubien said she had arranged to purchase a full-page advertisement in the annual travel edition of Brick and Elm, an Amarillo, Texas, magazine. She said she is seeking similar opportunities in the Albuquerque area.

In addition, she said the city has purchased both digital and print advertising in the Texas Monthly and Dallas D magazines.

She said she is also seeking assistance in “assistive managed search” promotions that would help the city’s name to receive prominent placement in online searches by potential travelers through Tucumcari.

Beaubien added she is planning to revamp the the city’s tourism website at http://www.visittucumcarinm.com, and is planning workshops for local businesses on how to work with websites that travelers use like TripAdvisor and Yelp.

She said she is also working on a social media strategy that could include Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.