Colorado Tourism Office Launches Destination Stewardship Strategic Plans

Destination stewardship is a collaborative, community-centered approach to tourism designed to enhance residents' quality of life and experience for visitors while protecting and supporting our environment, communities, and cultural heritage.

Following a year of collaborative planning from July 2023 to June 2024, the Colorado Tourism Office has introduced a new destination stewardship strategy. This initiative, developed with over 1,000 industry leaders, stakeholders, government representatives, community partners, and residents, aims to foster public-private partnerships and build on existing efforts statewide.

Launched in September 2024, the Destination Stewardship Strategic Plans are now in their implementation phase. Ongoing updates and community engagement will continue to support the plans as they advance.

The following Destination Stewardship Strategic Plans are available to download:

Statewide Destination Stewardship Strategic Plan
Executive Summary of the Statewide Destination Stewardship Strategic Plan
Eight Regional Destination Stewardship Strategic Plans

Background on the Destination Stewardship Strategic Planning Initiative

The Colorado Tourism Office's (CTO) Destination Stewardship Department, the first of its kind in the nation, spearheaded this groundbreaking strategic planning initiative. Collaborating with a tourism planning consulting team, which included seven regional facilitators and local tourism experts, the department undertook a comprehensive planning process.

The initiative is supported by the Destination Stewardship Council, a 27-member advisory group composed of industry and thought leaders from across the state. This Council provides guidance to the CTO, focusing on enhancing responsible travel, promoting sustainability, championing resilient destinations, and fostering inclusiveness and collaboration.

Solimar International, the CTO’s contracted consulting team, led the research, planning, and consultations for the statewide and regional plans. They will continue to oversee the implementation of these strategies both statewide and regionally.

Destination Stewardship Implementation and Monitoring

The Destination Stewardship Strategic Plans feature a comprehensive framework of goals and strategies informed by tourism stakeholders. Central to this framework are Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which are vital for assessing both the outcomes and effectiveness of the implementation process.

Outcome-Based KPIs

These KPIs are divided into four categories:

Environmental: Habitat conservation, air quality, and wildlife-vehicle collisions.
Social/Cultural: Traveler satisfaction, engagement with cultural landmarks, and tribal tourism development.
Economic: Tourism’s economic impact, sector employment, and support for small businesses.
Climate: Greenhouse gas emissions, seasonal snowpack changes, and zero-emission vehicle registration.

These indicators, collected from various state agencies, utilize established data sources to accurately monitor the plan’s outcomes and success.

Strategy-Specific KPIs

Each strategy within the plan is paired with specific KPIs for real-time progress tracking and data-driven adjustments, ensuring alignment with overall strategic goals.

KPI Dashboard

An interactive dashboard, currently under development, will offer real-time statistics on KPIs to enhance transparency and stakeholder engagement. This page will be updated regularly as new data becomes available.

Get Involved

We invite those interested in contributing to data collection and impact monitoring to contact us. Your involvement is crucial to our ongoing improvement and the successful achievement of our destination stewardship goals. Discover how you can help shape the future of tourism in Colorado by getting involved today.

Learn more about the Destination Stewardship Strategic Plan and implementation with these recorded webinars:

Links to recorded webinars

Follow this link to access the Partner Communications Toolkit.

Regular destination stewardship implementation updates and announcements will keep the public and industry informed via the Colorado Tourism Office weekly Tourism Tuesday email newsletter and the website CTOstewardship.com.

For additional information or questions, please contact Jill Corbin, Deputy Director, Destination Stewardship at jill.corbin@state.co.us