Taos Air returns for summer service
Over $19M generated for local economies in last fiscal year
Marketed as “the easiest route to the Rockies,” Taos Air is set to resume its summer air service after a successful winter season, according to a press release from Taos Ski Valley, Inc. Flights to Austin and Dallas in Texas, and Hawthorne/ Los Angeles and Carlsbad/San Diego in California will resume on June 30.
“We are thrilled to restart summer service, so visitors can come to Taos to experience rich spiritual traditions, fine art, distinctive cuisine and the raw, natural beauty of the landscape,” said Taos Air’s Director of Aviation Joe Zvada in the release.
The service hopes to prove that affordable air travel is available for Taos residents as well. “Taos Air isn’t just about accessing the Enchanted Circle, it also provides Northern New Mexicans with a simple, convenient travel experience to ultra-desirable destinations in California or Texas,” said Zvada.
“Taos Air summer service will continue to drive economic diversity in New Mexico; it also provides local New Mexicans a convenient way to ‘Book it to the Beach’ this summer season,” said Town of Taos Director of Tourism and Marketing Karina Armijo in the release.
Tickets for Taos Air range in price according to the booking date. “Last minute deals started at $149 one-way,” said Armijo. “In general, if you’re going to look at the average price from the whole season, it was $233 [one-way].”
During a Town of Taos Council meeting last week, Armijo also presented findings from the most
‘The convenience, I think, is very appealing to families.’
recent travel reports, provided by Santa Fe-based consultants Southwest Planning & Marketing, explaining exactly how Taos Air has benefited local economies throughout the Enchanted Circle.
Fliers during the summer of 2021 generated a “total economic impact of direct spending” of over $3.1 million, while fliers this past winter generated over $16.6 million in direct spending throughout Enchanted Circle communities for a fiscal year total of over $19.7 million.
Broken down by community, this equates to $4.3 million spent in Taos County, $5.4 million spent in the town of Taos, $7.4 million spent in the Village of Taos Ski Valley, $1.5 million spent in Angel Fire, over $785,000 spent in Red River, over $248,000 spent in Eagle
Nest, and over $38,000 spent in Questa. All of the data comes from Taos Air flier surveys, according to Armijo.
Based on the breakdown, Armijo said Taos Air has been “good for the region for both tourists and residents.”
When breaking down direct funding commitments for Taos Air based on municipality, Taos County gave $200,000, The Town of Taos gave $300,000, Taos Ski Valley gave $200,000 and Red River gave $35,000.
Armijo said she hopes to show other communities that have not provided Taos Air with financial support that the service is indeed a boon to their economies. “The town of Taos doesn’t want to be the only one that supports a service that benefits the whole region, so we hope that everyone can participate,” she said. “I hope they can see, through that economic impact analysis, how much it benefits our region and in turn look at what they can contribute.”
The air service also brought in additional gross receipts tax (GRTs) and lodger’s tax dollars for the region. According to the report by
Southwest Planning & Marketing, “summer [fliers] generated over $102,000 in GRTs and $589,544 in GRTs (not including direct spending).
Armijo also explained that 38 percent of flights in the summer of 2021 and 29 percent of flights in the winter season had Taos listed as the origin of their travel. She said the high summer numbers were due to high rates of travel to California. “Most of the people that we saw flying out were actually flying to Carlsbad… They want to get to the beach, to get away, and it’s a quick option,” she said. “The convenience, I think, is very appealing to families. We saw a lot of families on Spring Break that left town.”
Flights will run from June 30 through Sept. 26. Check taosair. com for booking options.
KARINA ARMIJO
Town of Taos Director of Tourism and Marketing