Colorado Springs aims to bring tourists back
The Colorado Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau has joined area organizations to form the Pikes Peak Regional Business Recovery Team, which aims to bring visitors back to the region after the Waldo Canyon fire that burned more than 18,000 acres in June. “We are mindful of the loss that the community has already endured,” says Doug Price, president and CEO of the Colorado Springs CVB. “People are at risk of losing their jobs, their benefits and their businesses if we can’t get visitation back where it should be. Nearly 350 families lost their homes to the fire, and we don’t want more people to lose their homes because they can’t make their rent or mortgage payments.”
The CVB is using $100,000 from its reserves to launch an advertising campaign to change the public perception of the area after the wildfire. It hopes to raise another $100,000 through donations. Price says tourism is starting to come back in the region, but it will be a long time before numbers get back to where they were. The Broadmoor hotel lost 4,000 room nights in July, primarily from group business, while visitors to local attractions were down as much as 50 percent, Price told the Colorado Springs Gazette. “It’s hard to put a dollar value on what it cost us,” Price said. “I can tell you, there are a lot of businesses that are teetering right now.”
