The Colorado Tourism Office (CTO) has secured $2.4 million in CARES Act Recovery Assistance from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), funding recovery work that includes direct assistance for more than 30 Colorado destinations and up to 20 tourism-related industry groups.
Paired with a CTO match of $600,000, the U.S. EDA grant supports $3 million in projects aimed at driving faster recovery and long-term resiliency for an industry deeply impacted by coronavirus. The plan funds a 2-phase Colorado Tourism Roadmap to Recovery, provide two rounds of technical assistance in both urban and rural settings, and share $1 million in support for destinations and industry associations to share their new messages with travelers.
The initial Restart phase will identify strategies to drive recovery and job restoration. The subsequent Re-imagine phase will focus on building long-term resilience and equipping destinations to create travel experiences.
As a division of the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), the CTO is charged with driving economic development of an industry that in 2019 attracted $24.4 billion in direct traveler spending, generating $1.49 billion in state and local taxes. CTO applied for the U.S. EDA grant last May to support tourism recovery and help offset a 39% cut in its annual appropriation this fiscal year.
As a first step, the CTO will post a Request for Proposals seeking a qualified consultant to create the two-phase Roadmap to Recovery as a five-year statewide strategic plan. Completion of each planning phase will trigger a round of technical assistance for stakeholders to develop local and industry-specific strategies. Ultimately, stakeholder groups qualify for marketing support ranging from $10,000 to $20,000.
To signal a commitment to supporting recovery of destinations statewide, CTO temporarily renamed its signature Colorado Rural Academy for Tourism (CRAFT) program as the Colorado Recovery Assistance For Tourism program. The CTO will conduct a competitive process to select up to 20 Colorado-based tourism industry associations and 32 Colorado tourism destinations to take part in the U.S. EDA-funded recovery work.
While coronavirus has impacted destinations and tourism-based businesses statewide, restrictions on sports, business meetings and events, cultural arts venues, restaurants and attractions have fallen especially hard on Front Range destinations. In 2019, the Front Range generated about 70% of all Colorado traveler spending, while mountain regions accounted for about 25%.
Tourism Economics reports that Colorado traveler spending fell by 50.1% between early March and late December 2020, impacting jobs, business earnings and state and local tax revenues statewide. Courtesy Colorado Tourism Office, www.colorado.com/news/