Advocacy & Public Policy

New Mexico Hospitality Association serves as the advocate, educator, and unified voice for New Mexico’s tourism and hospitality industry. We monitor and influence legislation, policies, and regulatory actions at both state and federal levels to protect and promote the interests of our members.

How We Advocate

Each year, our industry faces critical issues that can affect visitation, business operations, and statewide tourism growth. We work closely with federal and state partners—including the American Hotel & Lodging Association and the U.S. Travel Association—to represent members’ interests on Capitol Hill and in Santa Fe.

We employ multiple advocacy tactics: grassroots engagement, policy development, legislative monitoring, strategic messaging, and coalition building.

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Become part of our Government Affairs Committee. Submit policy ideas. Engage in local advocacy.
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Our Focus Areas

Below are the current advocacy priorities NMHA is actively supporting and pursuing.
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Guiding Principles

NMHA’s advocacy is rooted in these five guiding principles:
  • Build the tourism industry
  • Promote the tourism industry
  • Foster a business-friendly environment
  • Increase opportunities for tourism development
  • Preserve tourism resources and funding mechanisms

Positions on Key Issues

NMHA Supports:

  • Establishing a dedicated state tourism department (cabinet-level) focused exclusively on growth and support of tourism businesses.

  • Increasing state investment in the New Mexico Tourism Department—driven by research—to expand in key fly and drive markets.
  • Policies that encourage commercially viable development, including infrastructure, broadband, tax credits, and related incentives.
  • Fair and equitable lodger’s tax contributions across all lodging types, including short-term rentals.
  • Preserving clarity and intent in the lodger’s tax statute to ensure funds benefit tourism growth.
  • Reforming the liquor license code to ensure fairness without unduly burdening existing license holders.

NMHA Opposes:

  • Legislation or policy that undermines the hospitality industry’s ability to operate, grow, or compete.

How Members Can Participate

Member Advocacy Toolkit & Resources

Effective advocacy is a shared effort. Below are tools and strategies NMHA makes available to help members engage, influence, and amplify our collective voice.
  • Local Meetings with Legislators – Meet your state reps / senators, ideally in-district or on-site, to share your tourism story.

  • Op-Eds & Letters to the Editor – We provide guidance and drafts to help members get published locally.

  • Speaking Engagements – Rotate NMHA’s message through Rotary, Chambers, business groups, etc.

  • Social Media Campaigns – Share coordinated messaging via NMHA channels and encourage members to echo.
  • One Click Politics Platform – A simple tool members can use to send prewritten messages to policymakers with one click.

Additional Resources

Speak With Us

For questions about NMHA’s advocacy agenda, to share your concerns, or to get more involved, contact us:

1420 Carlisle NE, Suite #109
Albuquerque, NM 87110

(505) 506-8624

info@newmexicohospitality.org