Colorado tourism chiefs are hoping to build on awareness of the state’s ski product to promote it as a year-round adventure travel destination.
While ski resorts such as Aspen are well known among the trade and consumers, the state’s tourist board believes UK travellers are yet to understand the destination’s appeal in the summer months and shoulder seasons.
Colorado Tourism Office launched the 2017 Year of Summer Adventure at World Travel Market, with a focus on promoting travel for both soft and hard adventure between May and September.
Andrea Blankenship, director of international tourism for Colorado Tourism Office, said: “We are having some fantastic meetings with our trade partners about featuring Colorado in their programmes in the summer, and promoting the idea of adventure, whether that’s getting out and exploring fantastic landscapes or canyoneering.”
She added: “Our ski product is incredible, but we’re educating consumers and the trade that those ski destinations become perfect places to visit in the summer months when the snow clears.”
Colorado welcomed 77.7 million visitors last year, with the UK the largest overseas market at around 71,000.
Blankenship said figures from the UK continued to grow, with direct flights from British Airways and services from Icelandair proving popular. Improvements including a direct rail link between downtown Denver and the international airport had also made the city a more appealing destination and starting point for road trips, she added.