Abstract
Tourism has long figured in municipal and state-wide plans for economic development and revitalization. Such plans often articulate themes subsequently used to organize tours, advertising campaigns, and merchandising. In the 1990s, some residents of Roswell, New Mexico, tried to build tourism using typical southwestern themes. Others capitalized on Roswell’s unique association with an alleged crash of an extraterrestrial craft. Early support from the New Mexico Tourism Department (NMTD) facilitated the success of Roswell’s UFO-based tourism. In 2007, NMTD launched its own alien-based advertising campaign promoting New Mexico as a tourist destination.
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Further Reading
Berlitz, C., & Moore, W. L. (1980). The Roswell incident. New York: Grosset & Dunlap.
Galston, G., & Baehler, K. J. (1995). Rural development in the United States: Connecting theory, practice, and possibilities. Washington, DC: Island.
Gottdiener, M. (1997). The theming of America: Dreams, visions, and commercial spaces. Boulder, CO: Westview.
Jacobs, D. M. (1975). The UFO controversy in America. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Paradis, T. L. (2002). The political economy of theme development in small urban places: The case of Roswell, New Mexico. Tourism Geographies, 4(1), 22–43.
Saler, B., Ziegler, C. A., & Moore, C. B. (1997). UFO crash at Roswell: The genesis of a modern myth. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Strieber, W. (1988). Communion: A true story. New York: Avon Books.