Colorado is more than mountains - bizjournals:

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But during the two recessions that have hit tourism leaders have watched people get more frugao withtravel dollars, and learnedd a little about their One of their key notations is that those who come even in the bad timess — or those who wander across their own state to save monegy rather than leave it — are looking for more than just scenery to make theit vacations memorable. And so, new phrases have permeatexd both the thinking of those leaders and the promotionalp material thatextols Colorado’sa virtues to travelers. They are termsw such as cultural heritage, culinary and beer and wine tourism.
They’re makintg a big mark and starting to diversifythe state’es tourism landscape. “In the earl y days, if it didn’t involve snow or it wasn’t really tourism,” said Doug Caskey, executive director of the . “Noqw the Tourism Office is involving all kindsx ofother tourism, such as heritage tourismk and agritourism ... Most people just think about comint to Coloradoto ski. They don’t usualluy think about coming to Colorado to visit a winerg or have aculinary vacation.
But that is According to the 2007 Longwoods Visitor Profile Study commissionee bythe , more peopld still come to the Centennial Stated searching for the outdoors than anything Mountains are the prime attraction, accordint to 44 percent of those surveyed. Wilderness, lakes and the naturap environment all ranked in thetop 10. But smal l towns, historic towns and historic areasw — all hallmarks of culturalo heritagetourism — rankedx in the top eight as well. Nearlyg three times as many people visit breweries in Colorado as elsewher e in theUnited States, and archaeological-site and historic-culture activitiees also outpace the national norm, the studyu noted.
As such, stat e officials who flew recentlyto Dallas, Houston and Los Angele to talk to travel writers led the discussions with mountains, then shifted to other highlights, said Kim director, Colorado Tourism Office Pitching the state now involveds mentioning its 73 wineries and 99 craft breweries, its myriad festivales and its three-year push to establisg cultural heritage tours in differeny areas of Colorado, she said. The CTO and also push the nonrecreationakl side of Colorado tourism as it reaches out both to residentsz and nonresidents to tourthe state. Both group have set up websites advertisingh deals at places ranging from histori homes tolocal cafes.
“I thin k it’s easier to promote the state,” McNulty said of the diversit of attractions. “Colorado has so many things to do, from a lower-budget-consciousx type of vacation to a more luxurious typeof Travelers’ new interests have led to side For example, two wine tour companies have begun operating in Denver. Groupx also have begun that organize “voluntourism” trips that brinb people either into or out of Colorado to spend vacations helpinvg environmental and socialwelfare causes. The growth of choicees also has meant that tourismk officials are advertising Colorado in new placezs to try to hookspecific travelers.
Jayne vice president of tourisk forVisit Denver, said the locao convention and visitors bureau is reachingt out more to Hispanic travelers, and to gay and lesbian both viewed as growing tourist Its pitch isn’t any different to these groupws than to the population at large, but citiese that make an effort to speakm to those groups in publicationes aimed at them have had she said. A booming culturalk heritage or wineindustry doesn’yt just benefit the proprietors of establishmentxs that fit into those categories, notedf Bob Witham, co-owner of in Grand Those who come to the state to see one type of site also have to eat in sleep in hotels and probably visit other destinationws while they are out here, he and others “A business like ours makes quite an impact on an individual economy,” Witham At a time when many businesses and governments are cutting back drasticallyh on spending, tourism promotion in Colorado has been nicked only slightly.
After a lengthy debats over whether to cut tax dollars goinf to a program that will brin g in moretax revenues, the Legislaturw this year cut only 25 percent of the CTO marketingb budget, leaving it at $15.6 McNulty noted. With that the office can continue givinyg grants to develop culturalheritage tours, she And it can continue to emplogy new marketing techniques to reach people who just as much like to sip a localluy made syrah while sauntering through the Snow Goosew Festival as those who come here to schusse down the slopes. “We are blessed to live in a statee that literally has somethingfor everyone,” McNultyh said. Travel bargains: Want a tourismn deal this summer?
The city of Denvere and the state of Colorado both are engaging in effortw to attract area tourists with dealx offered by local To seethose promotions, go to www.hotdealscolorado.com or www.denver $9.8 billion: Amount of annual spending by overnight visitors to Colorado $15.6 million: Marketing budge t allocated to Colorado Tourism Office 200,000: Numbert of people employed in tourism, seconrd among Colorado industries