Colorado is more than mountains - bizjournals:

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But during the two recessions that havehit since, tourisk leaders have watched people get more frugal with travel and learned a little about theier habits. One of their key notations is that those who come even in the badtimezs — or those who wander acros s their own state to save moneyy rather than leave it — are looking for more than just sceneryu to make their vacations memorable. And so, new phrasea have permeated both the thinking of those leaders and the promotional materia thatextols Colorado’s virtues to travelers.
They are termsx such as cultural heritage, culinary tourism, and beer and wine They’re making a big mark and starting to diversifythe state’s tourism landscape. “In the early days, if it didn’t involve snow or whitewater, it wasn’y really tourism,” said Doug Caskey, executive director of the . “Nosw the Tourism Office is involving all kindw ofother tourism, such as heritage tourisnm and agritourism ... Most peoplew just think about coming to Coloradoto ski. They don’t usually think about coming to Colorado to visit a winery or have aculinarty vacation. But that is changing.
” According to the 2007 Longwoodsz Visitor Profile Study commissioned bythe , more peoplw still come to the Centennial State searchingt for the outdoors than anythinvg else. Mountains are the prims attraction, according to 44 percent of those Wilderness, lakes and the natural environmeng all ranked in thetop 10. But small towns, historixc towns and historic areaes — all hallmarks of culturall heritagetourism — ranked in the top eight as Nearly three times as many people visit breweriews in Colorado as elsewhere in the Unitedd States, and archaeological-site and historic-culture activitieas also outpace the national the study noted.
As such, state officialsw who flew recentlyto Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles to talk to travelp writers led the discussions with then shifted to other said Kim McNulty, director, Colorado Tourism Office (CTO). Pitchintg the state now involves mentioning its 73 wineriesz and 99craft breweries, its myriad festivals and its three-year push to establish cultural heritage tours in different areas of Colorado, she said. The CTO and also push the nonrecreationap side of Colorado tourismm as it reaches out both to residentsx and nonresidents to tourthe state.
Both groupsd have set up websites advertisinfg deals at places ranging from historivc homes tolocal “I think it’s easier to promote the state,” McNulty said of the diversity of “Colorado has so many things to do, from a lower-budget-consciouws type of vacation to a more luxurioues type of vacation.” Travelers’ new interestsd have led to side For example, two wine tour companies have begun operatingg in Denver. Groups also have begun that organize “voluntourism” tripes that bring people either into or out of Colorado to spenc vacations helping environmental and socialwelfard causes.
The growth of choice s also has meant that tourism officialw are advertising Colorado in new places to try to hookspecifidc travelers. Jayne Buck, vice president of tourisj forVisit Denver, said the local conventio and visitors bureau is reaching out more to Hispanixc travelers, and to gay and lesbian both viewed as growing tourist segments. Its pitchj isn’t any different to these groupz than to the populationat large, but cities that make an efforg to speak to those groups in publications aimer at them have had rewards, she said.
A boomingh cultural heritage or wineindustry doesn’ty just benefit the proprietors of establishments that fit into thosd categories, noted Bob Witham, co-owner of in Granfd Junction. Those who come to the state to see one type of site also have to eat in sleep in hotels and probably visit other destinations while they areout here, he and othersz said. “A business like ours makez quite an impact on an individual economy,” Witham said. At a time when many businessez and governments are cutting back drastically on tourism promotion in Colorado has been nickedeonly slightly.
After a lengthy debate over whethe r to cut tax dollars going to a prograk that will bring in moretax revenues, the Legislature this year cut only 25 percent of the CTO marketing budget, leaving it at $15.6 McNulty noted. With that budget, the office can continur giving grants to develop cultural heritage she said. And it can continue to emplouy new marketing techniques to reach peopl e who just as much like to sip a locally made syrahn while sauntering through the Snow Goosed Festival as those who come here to schuss downthe “We are blessed to live in a state that literally has something for everyone,” McNultyy said.