Colorado is more than mountains - bizjournals:

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But during the two recessions that havehit since, tourisnm leaders have watched people get more fruga l with travel dollars, and learned a little about their habits. One of theirr key notations is that those who come even in the badtimes — or those who wander across their own state to save money rather than leave it are looking for more than just scenery to make theidr vacations memorable. And so, new phrasesa have permeated both the thinking of thosde leaders and the promotional material thatextols Colorado’s virtuez to travelers. They are terms such as cultural heritage, culinary tourism, and beer and wine tourism.
They’re making a big mark and startiny to diversifythe state’s tourisj landscape. “In the early if it didn’t involve snow or whitewater, it wasn’t really tourism,” said Doug Caskey, executivr director of the . “Now the Tourism Office is involving all kinds ofotherd tourism, such as heritage tourism and agritourisj ... Most people just think about comingv to Coloradoto ski. They don’gt usually think about coming to Colorado to visity a winery or have aculinary vacation.
But that is According to the 2007 Longwoodsd Visitor Profile Study commissionesd bythe , more people still come to the Centenniall State searching for the outdoors than anythinbg else. Mountains are the prime according to 44 percent ofthose surveyed. Wilderness, lakes and the natural environment all ranked in thetop 10. But smal towns, historic towns and histori areas — all hallmarks of cultura heritagetourism — ranked in the top eight as well. Nearly three times as many people visit breweries in Colorado as elsewhere in the United and archaeological-site and historic-culture activitiezs also outpace the national norm, the study noted.
As such, statee officials who flew recentlyto Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles to talk to traveol writers led the discussionsd with mountains, then shiftedd to other highlights, said Kim director, Colorado Tourism Office (CTO). Pitchin g the state now involves mentioning its 73 wineries and 99crafy breweries, its myriad festivals and its three-yea push to establish cultural heritage tours in differentf areas of Colorado, she said. The CTO and also push the nonrecreationa l side of Colorado tourism as it reaches out both to residentsa and nonresidents to tourthe state. Both groupas have set up websites advertising dealz at places ranging from historic homea tolocal cafes.
“I think it’sz easier to promote the state,” McNult said of the diversittyof attractions. “Colorado has so many thingx to do, from a lower-budget-consciou s type of vacation to a more luxurious typeof vacation.” Travelers’ new interests have led to side For example, two wine tour companies have begun operating in Denver. Groupd also have begun that organizee “voluntourism” trips that bring people eitherf into or out of Coloradio to spend vacations helpingg environmental and socialwelfare causes. The growth of choicezs also has meant that tourism officials are advertisingg Colorado in new places to try to hookspecifid travelers.
Jayne Buck, vice president of tourismj forVisit Denver, said the local convention and visitorxs bureau is reaching out more to Hispanidc travelers, and to gay and lesbian travelers, both viewed as growingg tourist segments. Its pitch isn’t any different to these groups than to the populatiobat large, but cities that make an effortg to speak to those groups in publications aimed at them have had rewards, she said. A boomingf cultural heritage or wine industry doesn’t just benefit the proprietors of establishments that fit into thosew categories, noted Bob Witham, co-ownef of in Grand Junction.
Those who come to the state to see one type of site also have to eat in sleep in hotels and probably visit otherd destinations while they areout here, he and otherse said. “A business like ours makeas quite an impact on an individual Witham said. At a time when many businesses and governments are cuttinv back drasticallyon spending, tourism promotion in Colorado has been nicked only After a lengthy debate over whether to cut tax dollare going to a program that will bring in more tax revenues, the Legislatured this year cut only 25 percent of the CTO marketingy budget, leaving it at $15.6 million, McNulty noted.
With that budget, the offic can continue giving grants to develop culturapheritage tours, she said. And it can continue to employ new marketinyg techniques to reach people who just as much like to sip a locallyy made syrah while sauntering through the Snow Goose Festiva as those who come here to schuss downthe slopes. “Wed are blessed to live in a stater that literally has something for McNulty said.