Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta is drawing large crowds and boosting sales for vendors and local businesses across the city.
The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta is attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors this week, creating a surge in business activity for vendors and local shops.
For vendors at the Balloon Fiesta, big crowds mean big business. Zeke Gomez, who has worked with Roadrunner Concessions for the past 15 years, said the event requires significant effort to prepare.
“I stock all the material, I build this booth from basically the floor all the way up to everything you see,” Gomez said.
Roadrunner Concessions invests thousands of dollars into setting up and operating during the Fiesta, but Gomez said the investment pays off.
“We make it back,” he said. “It’s definitely worth it for us. You know, as long as we got great weather. It’s always worth it for us to be out here.”
Businesses on vendor row benefit from the money spent at the Fiesta, but the economic impact also ripples beyond the park. Shops in areas like Old Town are preparing for an influx of tourists this week.
At 19twelve Clothing Company, CEO Fred Franco said the Fiesta rush requires weeks of preparation to meet the demand.
“I have to be prepared for it. So we start prepping a month before just to have enough product and, you know, to have plenty of stock for the crowd that comes in,” Franco said.
Once the stock hits the shelves, it often sells quickly. Franco said his team works to keep up with the steady stream of customers, adding that the payoff is noticeable.
“During Balloon Fiesta, we do about three times what we normally do, maybe even more than that,” Franco said.
With the final weekend of the Fiesta still ahead, businesses are hoping for the largest crowds and biggest sales yet. The event continues tomorrow at the park with the Flight of Nations.
