Message from Governor John W. Hickenlooper T 4 EnCompass May/June 2012
The great state of Colorado has always drawn people to her natural beauty. While our majestic mountains and our top-ranked ski resorts and areas have become our calling card, the state is also home to some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world, in every season. We have lush valleys with roaring rivers; great plains and canyon
land to the east; the Grand Mesa and fertile vineyards on the western slope; the flavor of Southwest Colorado and the San Juan Mountains; the bountiful San Luis Valley; and much more. All of this surrounding our exciting cosmopolitan capital city of Denver, which has drawn an amazing mix of developments from the worlds of art, culture, music and cuisine, as well as new and emerging neighborhoods. Is it any surprise that Colorado is on the American traveler’s list of top 10 “dream travel destinations”1
or that National Geographic called a drive through the lush San Luis Valley one of the “500 Drives of a Lifetime”2 ?
Even esteemed poet Katherine Lee Bates was inspired to write “America the Beautiful” after looking out in awe to the “purple mountains’ majesty” atop Pikes Peak. All of this is important to each and every Coloradan—not only as a
source of pride—but because tourism has a real and tangible impact on the lives of all of our state’s residents. In 2010, Colorado welcomed 55.1 million visitors—our highest
total ever—who collectively spent $10.1 billion in tourism-related expenditures. Without that spending, every family would roughly have to pay an additional $364 in taxes. Visitor spending is not the only way that the tourism industry
supports Coloradans. Tourism is directly responsible for more than 144,000 jobs in Colorado. That means that a successful tourism industry is vital to maintaining a strong local economy. In addition, a thriving tourism product can also help bring more jobs
to Colorado. A Denver Economic Development study once found that more than 80 percent of Colorado CEOs were once visitors here and were so inspired by their experience that they decided to relocate their businesses here. That is a very powerful reason to be a strong ambassador for our
“ In 2010, Colorado welcomed 55.1 million visitors—our highest total ever—who collectively spent $10.1 billion in tourism- related expenditures. Without that spending, every family would roughly have to pay an additional $364 in taxes.”
tourism industry. You need not be in the tourism industry to be an ambassador for the state. So smile at the
group of skiers heading up to Colorado Ski Country; wave to the group of revelers dining al fresco on Larimer Square; beep your horn at the family heading up to Rocky Mountain National Park. Or you can be a visitor by heading out to a part of the state to which you have not
yet been. Attend a festival or visit a museum. Bring the family out to a U-PICK farm to support our local growers. Or just bask in the 300 days of sunshine that makes Colorado one sweet place to be.
1
www.longwoods-intl.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/The_Rise_and_Fall_of_Colorado_Tourism.pdf (pg. 10) 2
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/road-trips/san-luis-valley-colorado-road-trip
www.AAA.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60