New Mexico town seeks economic relief through Richard Branson’s liftoff

A town in United States’ New Mexico seeks to benefit from the tourism generated through Sunday’s space launch of Virgin Group’s boss Richard Branson, which is scheduled to take place about 30 miles away from the town.

The town, with an offbeat name ‘Truth or Consequences’, heavily depends upon healing waters, hot springs and a reservoir not far away from the town’s centre, has been experiencing a severe drought. 

However, Sunday’s launch brings the residents of Truth or Consequence a ray of hope as they expect a large number of people to travel to witness the launch and would find themselves going through the remote area, which is likely to boost tourism-related revenues for the town.

The residents said they are “looking skywards for relief”, according to a report from Reuters.

Bruce Swingle, who is the manager of the town in New Mexico, said, “This is real pioneering stuff, opening up the heavens to the entire world”, according to reports from Reuters. Swingle will also be hosting a viewing party for the launch on Sunday.

Even though many residents are expecting a big chunk of tourism revenue to remain back in Truth or Consequences, many still prefer a steady flow of water and availability of resources.

Val Wilkes, a resident of the town, said that the revenues collected by the motels in the area have gone up since the COVID-19 restrictions have been eased in the United States.

However, she said that Las Cruces, which is primarily connected with the launchpad will see a boom in income. She optimistically added, “If people want to come to our town, they’ll come”, according to reports from Reuters.

The drought reported in the New Mexico town has reached a severe situation as a nearby tank, which the residents depend upon, that is supposed to hold a large amount of water was only filled 7% to its full capacity, according to reports from Reuters.