Colorado Tourism receives boost in funding
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Colorado Tourism Office is about to get a huge boost after securing $2.4 million in CARES Act Recovery Assistance from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
The $2.4 million will be paired with a $600,000 dollar match from the Colorado Tourism Office for a grand total of $3 million. This grant will help projects aimed at driving faster recovery and long-term resiliency for the tourism industry which was deeply impacted by Covid-19.
The plan will fund a two-phase Colorado Tourism roadmap to recovery. The initial restart phase will identify strategies to drive recovery and job restoration, while the reimagine phase will focus on building long-term resilience and equipping destinations to create travel experiences aligned with new expectations and resident desires.
However, looking at the big picture, this money is just a small fix.
In 2019, the tourism industry attracted $24.4 billion in direct traveler spending, generating $1.5 billion dollars in state and local taxes.
In 2020, Tourism Economics reports that Colorado traveler spending fell by 50% between early March and late December. That impacted jobs, business earnings, and state and local tax revenues.
The Colorado Tourism Office will conduct a competitive process to select up to 20 Colorado-based Tourism Industry Associations and 32 Colorado Tourism Destinations that will receive additional funding from the grant money.
