Denver, Colo. (Dec. 12, 2017) ­– The statewide industry advocacy group Colorado Business Roundtable recently held its inaugural Collaboration in Industry Awards event and the winner of the Tourism and Outdoor Recreation category was the Colorado Historic Hot Springs Loop (CHHSL), a partnership between five western Colorado destinations that features 19 thermal mineral water attractions. The award recognizes successful alliances that strengthen Colorado’s business ecosystem.

Business leaders from a broad spectrum of industries including aerospace, energy, education, engineering and construction, farming and agriculture, financial services, government and economic development, hospitality and lodging, health and wellness, manufacturing, and technology attended the event on Thursday, Dec. 7, at the Cable Center in Denver. In the category of Tourism and Outdoor Recreation, the CHHSL was a finalist with two industry giants—the outdoor equipment retailer Cabella’s and the Colorado Tourism Office.

According to CHHSL project manager Vicky Nash, owner of Resort Trends, Inc., a tourism marketing and communications firm based in Glenwood Springs, “The Colorado Historic Hot Springs Loop project represents an extremely successful public/private partnership between destination marketing organizations/chamber resort associations, the Colorado Tourism Office, and private businesses. We are very proud of our accomplishments and are so honored to be recognized.”

In just two years since its implementation, the CHHSL has garnered over 150 news articles and editorial stories valued at more than $6.3 million in top publications from USA Today and the Washington Post to National Geographic Traveler and Sunset Magazine. In October, CHHSL also won the Destination Marketing Association of the West award for Best Idea which recognized innovative techniques and imaginative approaches to promoting a destination.

It began in the fall of 2015, when the five Colorado hot springs destinations—Chaffee County, Pagosa Springs, Ouray County, Glenwood Springs, and Steamboat Springs—formulated a strategy to leverage their resources. Each partner contributed $5,000 which enabled the fledgling initiative to secure a Colorado Tourism Office Marketing Matching Grant Fund for a $50,000 total budget for two consecutive years. Much of the first nine months was devoted to product development including creating collateral marketing materials such as www.colorado.com/hotspringsloop, a map, brochures, and videos produced in four languages. Since then, the campaign has taken off and the CHHSL has effectively increased consumer interest in visiting hot springs destinations in western Colorado.

About the Colorado Business Roundtable
The Colorado Business Roundtable (CBR) is a proactive, pro-business advocate that seeks to strengthen the economy to allow businesses to grow and thrive in Colorado. Through strategic connections with industry leaders, chambers of commerce, educational institutions, and governmental bodies, the CBR seeks to improve the business environment, increase effectiveness, and expand the reach of its partners regionally, at both the state and national level. In addition to advocating for Colorado businesses, the CBR also hosts events, publishes a magazine, and hosts a radio podcast.

About the Colorado Historic Hot Springs Loop
Five premier hot springs destinations in western Colorado— Chaffee County, Pagosa Springs, Ouray County, Glenwood Springs, and Steamboat Springs—joined together to form the Colorado Historic Hot Springs Loop. This 720-mile loop showcases some of the most popular hot springs attractions in the country. There is so much variety; from intimate private baths, to the world’s largest mineral hot springs pool. Each of the 19 facilities offers unique features like vapor caves, hot pots, terraced pools, enormous travertine formations, and fun-filled aquatic centers.

Media Contact:
Colorado Historic Hot Springs Loop
Jessica Meath
970-456-3162
Email

Denver, CO (May 4, 2017) – The Colorado Tourism Office (CTO) Public Relations team took home two Gold Pick Awards from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Colorado Chapter’s annual dedication ceremony. Both awards — one for Best Campaign and one for Best Component of a Campaign — recognized the team’s success in promoting the new Colorado Historic Hot Springs Loop (CHHSL).

In 2016, the team hosted five top-tier journalists on assignment or with strong assignment prospects to experience portions of the CHHSL firsthand including: Sophia Dembling, Dallas Morning News (story ran on Nov. 10, 2016); Melanie Kaplan, The Washington Post (story ran on February 9, 2017);  Alex Schecter, National Geographic Traveler (story ran in the Feb./March 2017 issue);  Susan Barnes, USA Today (story ran on Feb. 16, 2017); Charles Bethea (pending articles for possible WSJ Off Duty or Outside inclusion).

As a result of hosting and pitching the new CHHSL, the CTO PR team has generated 17 articles to-date covering the loop, mostly feature placements, in top target outlets including: National Geographic Traveler (with cover mention), Sunset, The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, 5280, United Hemispheres, Dallas Morning News, The Washington Post, USA Today and more. The USA Today article, “Warm up a cold night in Colorado’s Hot Springs Loop” was syndicated in 21 additional outlets and The Washington Post article, “The Colorado Historic Hot Springs Loop makes it easy to plan a visit and a long soak” was syndicated in 11 additional outlets. These articles (including syndications) produced $4,112,050 in media value and 95,043,725 impressions.

As a result of distributing the “Colorado’s New Historic Hot Springs Loop Pairs Year-Round Adventures with Rejuvenating Soaking Spots” press release to target media and distributing through PR Newswire, the release was picked up in 102 outlets and produced a media value of $1,000,271 and 33,668,198 impressions.

Glenwood Springs, Colo. (Oct. 13, 2017) – The  Colorado Historic Hot Springs Loop (CHHSL), a collaboration between five Colorado destination marketing associations (DMOs), was one of just four winners in the recent Best Idea Program sponsored by Destination Marketing Association of the West (DMA West) at their annual Education Summit in Las Vegas on Sept. 28, 2017. The Best Ideas Program showcases innovative projects and creative marketing strategies by its member organizations.

The idea behind creating this mutually beneficial program was to pool the marketing and financial resources of several Colorado hot springs resort towns that are all within driving distance of one another. The CHHSL provides visitors with a vacation itinerary that takes them on a 720-mile tour of five western Colorado hot springs destinations. The route includes Chaffee County, Pagosa Springs, Ouray County, Glenwood Springs, and Steamboat Springs, with each destination offering visitors a distinctive geothermal soaking experience. For the destinations along the loop, the result has turned into marketing gold.

Accepting the Best Idea Award on behalf of the CHHSL was Lisa Langer, Vice President of Tourism Marketing for the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association and Jennie Green, Director of Visit Pagosa Springs. “Our success is a tribute to the power of teamwork. It’s thanks to the dedication and commitment of each of the partners that the Colorado Historic Hot Springs Loop is a winner for our state and region,” Langer said.

Among its most impressive achievements, the CHHSL has garnered an estimated equivalent of $5.5M in editorial media coverage—an astounding amount—since its inception nearly two years ago. To start, each DMO contributed $5,000 to apply for a Colorado Tourism Office 1:1 marketing matching grant, which they have secured for two consecutive years.

The five DMOs used the grant to produce a webpage that is part of the Colorado.com state site. This includes a video, downloadable brochures, and information about each destination. The brochures are translated from English to German, Japanese, and Chinese. In addition, they contracted with Brand USA to produce videos in those four languages and are featured on VisittheUSA.com pages. The DMOs have hosted media from around the world and promote the CHHSL at four annual international trade summits.

Articles about the CHHSL, mostly feature placements, have appeared in top-target outlets such as: National Geographic Traveler, Sunset, The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, 5280, United Hemispheres, Dallas Morning News, The Washington Post, USA Today, and more. The USA Today article, “Warm up a cold night in Colorado’s Hot Springs Loop” was syndicated in 21 additional outlets and The Washington Post article, “The Colorado Historic Hot Springs Loop makes it easy to plan a visit and a long soak” was syndicated in 11 additional outlets. Sunset magazine selected CHHSL as a Best of the West Travel Star calling it the “Wellness Highway.”

About the Colorado Historic Hot Springs Loop
Five premier hot springs destinations in western Colorado—Chaffee County, Pagosa Springs, Ouray County, Glenwood Springs, and Steamboat Springs—joined together to form the Colorado Historic Hot Springs Loop. This 720-mile loop showcases some of the most popular hot springs attractions in the country. There is so much variety; from intimate private baths, to the world’s largest mineral hot springs pool. Each of the 19 facilities offers unique features like vapor caves, hot pots, terraced pools, enormous travertine formations, and fun-filled aquatic centers.

About Destination Marketing Association West
DMA West supports and provides resources to western destination marketing organizations (DMOs) as they enhance initiatives and technologies associated with interactions with visitors, clients, partners/stakeholders, board members and elected leaders, as well as interactions with colleagues and industry peers.

Media Contacts:

Colorado Historic Hot Springs Loop
Jessica Meath
970-456-3162
Email

Destination Marketing Association of the West | DMA West
Teresa Stephenson,
916-443-9012 Executive Director
[email protected]