En route back from Hawaii (more posts from that trip to come), I picked up a copy of the "Colorado Summer Vacation Planner 2009" (top right) at Denver International Airport this morning. A bit spacy after a full day on the Big Island and a red-eye nonstop flight from Kailua Kona International Airport, I thumbed through it on the ride home. There were the usual towns, resorts and counties in almost-alphabetical order: Aspen, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, Cañon City, Chaffee County -- all the way to Winter Park.
Then I looked again. No Boulder! No Boulder? I know (and have repeated) the one-liner about "the People's Republic of Boulder," but as far as I knew, Boulder hadn't actually seceded from the State of Colorado, nor had Boulder been kicked out. Colorado towns as small as Ouray (population under 900) and even non-towns like Gateway, which is actually a resort development called Gateway Canyons Resort, near the Utah state line, get their own chapters. But no Boulder -- except in the lodging listings, where 11 properties are given.
I looked again through bleary red-eye flight eyes and finally noticed that this vacation planner is not the one issued by the Colorado Tourism Office, but rather by the Colorado Hotel & Lodging Association. The CTO's "2009 Official Sate Vacation Guide" (lower right) does not feature specific destination chapters, so low-keying Boulder is not quite so obvious. (I'm sorry that
there's no larger image downloadable from the CTO's site, but you can see it here.) The covers of the two planners are similar: blue sky dome above a wildflower-filled meadow, with a couple of hikers on the CHLA's planner and a romantic couple lounging (off-trail) amid the flowers on the CTO's planner.
But back to omitting Boulder, oversight? Maybe. Deliberate? Maybe, perhaps because of an insufficient level of advertising support by city interests for state-wide tourism promotion efforts. Too bad? For sure.
Then I looked again. No Boulder! No Boulder? I know (and have repeated) the one-liner about "the People's Republic of Boulder," but as far as I knew, Boulder hadn't actually seceded from the State of Colorado, nor had Boulder been kicked out. Colorado towns as small as Ouray (population under 900) and even non-towns like Gateway, which is actually a resort development called Gateway Canyons Resort, near the Utah state line, get their own chapters. But no Boulder -- except in the lodging listings, where 11 properties are given.
I looked again through bleary red-eye flight eyes and finally noticed that this vacation planner is not the one issued by the Colorado Tourism Office, but rather by the Colorado Hotel & Lodging Association. The CTO's "2009 Official Sate Vacation Guide" (lower right) does not feature specific destination chapters, so low-keying Boulder is not quite so obvious. (I'm sorry that
there's no larger image downloadable from the CTO's site, but you can see it here.) The covers of the two planners are similar: blue sky dome above a wildflower-filled meadow, with a couple of hikers on the CHLA's planner and a romantic couple lounging (off-trail) amid the flowers on the CTO's planner.But back to omitting Boulder, oversight? Maybe. Deliberate? Maybe, perhaps because of an insufficient level of advertising support by city interests for state-wide tourism promotion efforts. Too bad? For sure.
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Hard to believe the Colorado Vacation planner doesn't include Boulder, for either of the reasons you mention!
ReplyDeleteThe Hotel association perhaps expects a substantial contribution, which the City of Boulder may either not have had the funds to pay; or chose not to since it's already a popular vacation destination.
ReplyDeleteJust a guess. If you find out, Claire, I'd like to hear why Boulder was omitted.
Colorado is nice place to visit. I'll go there someday. thanks for share great information.
ReplyDeleteDid you ever find out why Boulder was left out?
ReplyDeleteI did a little research and found a possible answer. boulder has its own hotel and lodging assoc. at boulderlodging.com. My guess is that they excluded themselves from the guide to increase sales of their own book strictly about Boulder.
ReplyDeleteI know for a fact that in order to be "featured" in the Colorado Vacation Planner, you have to advertise. "City pages" are only given to those who do. Many businessess elect not to advertise here because it is not the fulfillment piece for the CTO's multi-million advertising expenditure.
ReplyDeleteThe Colorado Official State Vacation Guide fairly represents the State. Editorial is not contingent on ad dollars in the State's piece.