Los Lunas tourism plan includes possible Route 66 museum

The village council of Los Lunas, New Mexico, recently approved a strategic tourism plan that includes a possible Route 66 museum.

The News-Bulletin reported the village wants to collaborate with other municipalities in Valencia County to boost tourism to the region.

The newspaper reported:

The objectives of the plan include creating a road map brochure so visitors can follow site to site. The aim is also to attract new businesses to support the emerging tourism industry and attract new visitors, extend their stays, as well as engage Los Lunas businesses and residents with information and tools to become brand ambassadors.
It also might include smaller projects, such as putting the Route 66 logo on the roadway and creating some signage that would show people where the old Route 66 properties were and those that still exist, Ainsworth said.
The village’s plan for a Route 66 Museum and Visitors Center, to be located on land purchased west of the Luna Mansion, is important to tourism.
“It would be another segment of our economy that we can grow,” Ainsworth said. “Not just for the visitor experience but also for creating more quality of life in the village for our residents.”

The plan itself states in the tourism infrastructure section:

Infrastructure elements might include branded wayfinding / signage, an amphitheater at the Transportation Center, a Route 66 Museum and more overnight capacity. New visitor experiences such as a water-wise garden specifically designed to attract hummingbirds, bees and butterflies or a climbing apparatus for outdoor enthusiasts and active families will further put the Village on the tourism map, generating more gross receipts and lodger tax revenue.

The newspaper reported Los Lunas would begin the initiative by collaborating with state tourism officials, starting with brochures and marketing.

Los Lunas sits on the lesser-known but charming 1926-1937 alignment of Route 66,south of Albuquerque. Regardless of that section’s semi-obscurity, it’s good officials think it’s worth promoting it to travelers. Like many municipalities, Las Lunas likely was influenced by the 2012 Route 66 Economic Impact Study by Rutgers University.

However, with Albuquerque planning a Route 66 visitors center on its west side, it’s questionable whether a Route 66 museum less than 30 miles away would be viable. If so, Las Lunas officials had better plan it carefully and make it distinctive.

(Image of Los Lunas, New Mexico, by teofilo via Flickr)

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