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Colorado Recovery Assistance For Tourism

The Colorado Recovery Assistance For Tourism Program assisted Colorado tourism destinations and industry associations advance collaborative projects to foster the long-term resilience of the statewide industry.

This program was funded by a $2.4 million CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

This program included four different offerings:

These programs included a mix of strategic planning, community visioning and action planning workshops, project-based consulting from tourism experts, and access to resources to implement tourism-related projects. Colorado Tourism Office Destination Development programs are always customized to meet the needs and objectives of local partners, with the goal of attracting new forms of visitation, enhancing local tourism offerings, conserving cultural and natural assets, and improving residential quality of life.

The Colorado Recovery Assistance For Tourism is no longer active and was only available from 2021 to 2023. Follow this link to learn more about active Colorado Tourism Office Destination Development programs.

Overview

Type: Technical assistance and grant

For: Tourism destinations and industry associations

Amount: Varies

Application deadline: Program is no longer active

OEDIT division: Colorado Tourism Office

Restart Destinations Program

The Restart Destinations Program assisted Colorado tourism destinations to drive short-term recovery as they emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Colorado Tourism Office approved 28 Colorado tourism destinations to participate in the Restart Destinations Program in July 2021. Participating destinations received:

  • a destination recovery assessment
  • a full-day community visioning and action planning workshop
  • 75 hours of free consulting to advance recovery-focused tourism projects
  • direct marketing support from the Colorado Tourism Office

More than 525 Colorado tourism stakeholders were directly engaged across the 28 destinations during the development of the destination recovery assessments and delivery of the workshops. As a result of this engagement, the Colorado Tourism Office identified the following shared industry priorities that were consistent across the findings gathered within the 28 participating destinations:

  • advance off-peak tourism opportunities
  • advance tourism workforce
  • champion the value of tourism
  • develop and enhance visitor experience
  • encourage responsible and respectful use
  • foster inclusive travel opportunities
  • promote local businesses and experiences

Following the delivery of each workshop, each participating destination received 75 hours of free consulting from a tourism expert to implement priority actions that were identified during the workshop. This resulted in the completion of 28 Restart Destination Mentor Projects that advanced recovery-focused tourism activities throughout Colorado.

Success stories about each program delivery are available in the Participating Destinations section below. 
 

Restart Industry Associations Program

The Restart Industry Associations Program assisted Colorado tourism industry associations to drive short term recovery as they emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Participating industry associations received:

  • 75 hours of free consulting to advance recovery-focused tourism projects
  • direct marketing support from the Colorado Tourism Office

Success stories about each project are available in the Participating Industry Associations section below. 
 

Reimagine Destinations Program

The Reimagine Destinations Program assisted Colorado tourism destinations advance projects that foster the long-term resilience of the Colorado tourism industry.

Program objectives included:

  • enhanced collaboration between state and local tourism leaders
  • shared alignment on priorities to advance tourism
  • implementation of one or more innovative tourism projects 

Participating destination organizations received: 

  • a destination assessment
  • a full-day community visioning and action planning workshop
  • 100 hours of free consulting to advance priority projects
  • $20,000 of direct marketing support from the Colorado Tourism Office 

Colorado destination organizations that participated in the Restart Destinations Program were encouraged to select one of the shared industry priorities that emerged from the delivery of the Restart Destinations Program:

  • advance off-peak tourism opportunities
  • advance tourism workforce
  • champion the value of tourism
  • develop and enhance visitor experience
  • encourage responsible and respectful use
  • foster inclusive travel opportunities
  • promote local businesses and experiences  

Colorado destination organizations that did not partner with the Colorado Tourism Office on the Restart Destinations Program had the opportunity to focus their participation in the Reimagine Destinations Program on one of the shared industry priorities, or they could use the program to build broader awareness of multiple priorities within their local tourism industry.

Follow this link for the recording of the Reimagine Destinations Program webinar hosted on May 10, 2022. 

Reimagine Industry Associations Program

The Reimagine Industry Associations Program assisted Colorado tourism industry associations to advance strategies that foster long-term industry resilience.

Program objectives included:

  • enhanced collaboration between state and industry tourism leaders
  • shared alignment on priorities to advance tourism
  • implementation of one or more innovative tourism projects

Participating industry associations received:

  • 75 hours of free consulting to advance priority tourism projects
  • a $10,000 creative asset production shoot

Program Manager

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