Last week, we were the first to report the story that New Mexico Magazine is expected to turn a profit this fiscal year after losing some $1.4 million in the last two years.

On Monday (July 16), Capitol Report New Mexico talked to Monique Jacobson, the secretary of the Department of Tourism, which oversees the magazine. Jacobson attributes the turnaround to the new leadership installed at the magazine and also to a directive to run the publication more like a business:

 

Also on Monday, Jacobson announced that New Mexico has seen a 4.7 percent increase in visitors and that according to Longwoods International Travel USA, the average expenditures that tourists make per trip has increased 9.3 percent between 2010 and 2011 (from $691.28 to $755.87).

How much of that was simply due to the fact that we had a wet winter that boosted the ski industry after a very dry 2010-2011 winter?

“I don’t think that’s the only factor, although it’s a critical factor,” Jacobson said. “But people are talking about New Mexico and the more people talk about it, the better we do. And we’ve really had an industry that’s come together to drive the growth in this state.”