Tourism logo New Mexico True has new look

Teya Vitu, The Santa Fe New Mexican
·2 min read

Apr. 14—New Mexico True.

Land of Enchantment.

The Zia symbol.

Those classic elements have been combined in the state Tourism Department's "refreshed" marketing campaign.

New Mexico True, the punchy phrase that has long anchored the state's efforts to grab tourist dollars, has been the standard-bearer since 2012 and remains in place.

But a new look and tagline will be unveiled when the Tourism Department launches its national marketing campaign.

Tourism Secretary Jen Paul Schroer on Tuesday unveiled the simplified branding push, with a new, stark logo and the inclusion of "Land of Enchantment" as New Mexico True's tagline.

The Tourism Department will have a $21 million budget plus a $7 million special appropriation for tourism recovery efforts for fiscal year 2022 to rebound from a $3.15 billion loss in tourism revenue in 2020, Schroer said.

She said 30,000 New Mexicans working in the tourism sector remain jobless.

Schroer's media presentation walked through the evolution of the Tourism Department's promotional videos since 2012.

The new videos now have storytelling from New Mexicans engaged in activities such as horseback riding and hot air ballooning, plus recreating at Taos Ski Valley and America's first wilderness area, the Gila Wilderness.

"We want to continue to evolve and innovate," Schroer said. "We aim to tell the story of the state through the people who bring life to New Mexico."

She said neighboring states have been influenced by the New Mexico True campaign, with Arizona adopting "[un]real" and Texas Magazine employing "True Texas."

"New Mexico has this authenticity that is unlike our competition," Schroer said. "We get to go out in the wild. It is untouched. We still have our heritage and culture."

Schroer said the Tourism Department is not yet ready to take the "refreshed" campaign to the media marketplace as it monitors the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, but she does have optimism, especially with New Mexico among the nation's leaders in having its population vaccinated.

"For much of the pandemic, a vaccine was a distant idea that never seemed to be coming," she said. "With the arrival of the vaccine, the end game was here."