Colorado Tourism Office Governors Conference 2012 – An Inspiring Event

Wow ~ what a great few days in Steamboat! The Governors 2012 Colorado Tourism Conference was terrific and the setting was apropos for the theme of Coloroado’s Tourism campaign – Come to Life. The conference, hosted by the Colorado Tourism Office, was well attended by Colorado’s town and county representatives as well as media outlets from around the region (including us MTN Town Magazine folk).  Steamboat Resort, the Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel and Sheraton Steamboat Resort put a great conference on with wonderful food, activities and accommodations. Steamboat Springs was beautiful.

The conference theme, Come To Life, is the theme that the Colorado Tourism Office has been advocating with it’s latest advertising campaign. It is an emotional call to all reminding them that one needs to live in order to enjoy life and Colorado is the place to be to discover and reinforce that concept. We agree whole-heartedly and felt the connection to the messages embedded within their commercials and print ads. Take a few moments to enjoy these amazing productions (there are several of them) as well as some background into how the of ads were made. The Colorado Symphony Orchestra composed and performed the music and it is lovely. It will remind you of the gift of living, especially living here in Colorado.

This uplifting tone was incorporated into the entire conference. Impressed upon all of is the need to continue building all elements of Colorado’s tourism industry, from small business owners to ski industry. Tourism is a huge employer here in Colorado as well as the United States and it is an industry that needs constant promotion to remain competitive.

     

Break out sessions featured experts in a variety of fields, including digital media, crisis communications, social media, analytics and research, international programs and even Google. New this year, the conference was kicked off with a one-day culinary tourism workshop focused on leveraging the state’s unique culinary products.

“The Governor’s annual tourism conference is a prime opportunity for tourism folks from all four corners of the state to come together for one unified goal,” said Tim Wolfe, chairman of the Colorado Tourism Office Board of Directors. “It is essential for Colorado’s tourism industry to continue to grow and prosper, and to reinvigorate our commitment to providing the best visitor experience possible.”

At the Annual Awards Luncheon on October 12, Colorado Tourism Office Director Al White presented awards to individuals and organizations that have greatly contributed to the advancement and innovation of Colorado’s tourism industry. The awards and winners are detailed below.

• The Outstanding Community Tourism Initiative Award, is presented to a community or region that has demonstrated excellence in a tourism event, promotion or project, and was awarded to The Colorado Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB). The Colorado Springs CVB promoted the area’s offerings through their multi-faceted “55 Colorado Springs Region Attractions in 5 Days” campaign, which utilized six visual and interactive viral videos, supported with social media and PR tactics. This campaign contributed to the region’s economic goals by encouraging increased length of visit and repeat visits.

• The Governor’s Award for Outstanding Individual Contribution to Colorado Tourism is presented to an individual to recognize his/her tireless contributions to advancing the Colorado tourism industry. Mary Motsenbocker was acknowledged for her relentless passion for Colorado and long-time commitment to its continued success. Motsenbocker’s tourism career in Colorado began in 1982 when she was a marketing representative for the Purgatory Ski Resort in Durango. Since then, she has gone on to start Colorado International Tourism Marketing, which helped assist the state’s international marketing program efforts. In addition, she founded Go West Summit, a premier conference to develop international tourists, which will celebrate its 25^th year in 2013.

• The Governor’s Award for Outstanding Marketing Program, which recognizes an event or project undertaken by a community or region to promote tourism in Colorado, went to the Telluride Tourism Board’s “Summer of Love” marketing program. A world-renowned ski resort, Telluride Tourism Board was tasked with increasing summer occupancy for the months of June, July and August. The “Summer of Love” campaign generated more than 36 million impressions. Summer occupancy rates and revenues in 2012 rivaled those for core winter months.

• The Outstanding Tourism Volunteer Award is presented to an individual who has selflessly dedicated time and energy to furthering tourism in Colorado. This year, Bernie Collette received this award for donating well over 5,000 hours of service as a volunteer travel councilor at the Burlington Welcome Center. Her incredible hospitality and widespread knowledge of the state has helped to enrich the travel experience for tens of thousands of visitors.

• The Colorado Tourism Office Board Chairman’s Award is awarded to an extraordinary individual’s commitment to tourism in Colorado. This year’s award was presented to Jane Chaney for her dedication and unyielding passion for the Colorado tourism industry. Chaney announced her retirement from her position as executive director of the Gunnison-Crested Butte Tourism Association in early 2012, after serving more than 10 years in the industry.

As the conference closed, the Colorado Tourism Office announced that Telluride will host the Governor’s 2013 Colorado Tourism Conference October 2-4, 2013.

“As a destination reliant on tourism, we understand the industry’s importance to our state and appreciate the support provided by the Colorado Tourism Office and our state government, in the form of activities such as the Governor’s Conference,” said Michael Martelon, President and CEO of the Telluride Tourism Board. “We are thrilled to host the Governor’s Conference in 2013 and to showcase Telluride’s authentic spirit and inspiring atmosphere to industry partners from around Colorado.”

We are excited too! Colorado is an amazing state and I am proud to call it home. Each town and community is unique and always has something of interest to offer. I particularly love it’s mountain town communities but appreciate the plains and front range locales as well. Colorado – we rock.