New Mexico hopes to become a world-leading eco-tourism destination, with the introduction of the America’s first safari camps.

The state tourist board has unveiled a new eco-tourism programme that consolidates existing products, such as indigenous culture, eco-volunteering and sustainable accommodation, and also introduces a series of new low-impact tented camps built on tribal lands.

Jennifer Hobson, deputy cabinet secretary for New Mexico, said that even in America, few people are aware of what she called New Mexico's "raw space and big sky".

"We had the first National Park in America. We were one of the first states to have a Native American department in our tourism agency. All this great eco-tourism product exists but no one's really put it into one place," she said.

The tourist board has partnered with Unchartered Outposts, a US-based safari specialist that already operates in Africa and Australia. 

The most luxurious camps could cost in excess of $100,000 to build and will resemble high-end resorts in Africa, while other camps would be more affordable family options.

Unchartered Outposts, operating as Eco New Mexico, will also act as booking agent for the new ecotourism programme, via a new section of the tourist board's website – newmexico.org/ecotourism – which goes live next week.

Hudson said the programme will attract those visitors who "stay longer, spend more, and are interested in shaking the hands of the people". She also said she believed it would have a special appeal for the UK market.

The first tented camps are expected to open by late summer 2010.

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