ALBUQUERQUE, NM (KRQE) – Balloon Fiesta officials held a press conference Monday. Officials said they expect a large turnout, with pre-sale tickets on par with 2019. Some hotels say they will be full. All of these out-of-town visitors are spending hundreds of dollars a day, which hotels, restaurants and shops across Albuquerque missed sorely last year.
“Say your word again because I think so many companies were about to shut down or something and now they’re really going to thrive,” said Skye West, who works at Dancing Crow in Old Town.
Some old town shops say there have been many ups and downs during the pandemic, some even closed permanently. However, those who survived the pandemic’s canine days are thrilled to see Balloon Fiesta return after it was canceled last year. The companies said the Balloon Fiesta is by far their busiest time of year and hope this year will be bigger than ever.
Meanwhile, hotels across Albuquerque are already having to turn people away. The manager of Hotel Parq Central said his hotel was almost fully booked and was expecting a record-breaking balloon fiesta for his business.
“2019 was a good year, it was one of the best years we’ve ever had, but this year is even better in my opinion because people wanted out to see what the Balloon Fiestas are all about, so have we get a lot of new business coming to town and we look forward to being here and hosting the hosts, ”said Yancy Sturgeon, General Manager of Hotel Parq Central.
Officials from Hotel Albuquerque and Hotel Chaco said they were already booked for the fiesta. However, the staff at these hotels said there might be some cancellations during the week. So some people might get lucky and get a room. Corporations and hotels say they are still suffering from staff shortages and want to remind customers to be patient with staff.
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