Colorado celebrates National Travel and Tourism Week

STATEWIDE — In celebration of National Travel and Tourism Week (May 6-12), the Colorado Tourism Office (CTO) is launching a new keyboard of emoji stickers to let fans of the state share fun messages incorporating favorite landmarks and icons in texts and emails.

The CTO also is spearheading a statewide promotion called “Welcome to Colorful Colorado” to extend a warm welcome to summer visitors as well as to the 6,000-plus international tourism professionals arriving in Denver this month for IPW, the U.S. Travel Association’s annual international trade show.

“With IPW coming to our state for the first time in 27 years, Denver and Colorado have an exceptional opportunity to showcase what is most special about our state,” said CTO Director Cathy Ritter. “With attendees representing more than 70 countries around the globe, we wanted to make it clear they can expect a warm welcome across Colorado.”

Tourism partners across the state are responding to the CTO’s call to share a photo or video showcasing what is most special about their destinations, while sending a big hello to the world. The photos and videos will be shared during National Travel and Tourism Week on the CTO social channels, including the Visit Colorado Facebook page as well as the Colorado Tourism Industry Buzz, aimed at industry partners.

Images and videos also will be shared on social channels for both the U.S. Travel Association and Brand USA. Numerous destinations are planning to participate, including Alamosa, Anderson Farms, Arvada Visitors Center, Aspen, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Blackbelly in Boulder, Breckenridge, Brighton, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Gators, Colorado Railroad Museum, Creekside Cellars, Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Denver Art Museum, Downtown Boulder, Glenwood Springs, Golden, History Colorado, Karsh & Hagan, Loveland, Old Town Burlington, Ouray, Pikes Peak, Steamboat Springs, The Royal Gorge Bridge & Park, Town of Eagle, Two Rivers Winery and Chateau, Visit Colorado Springs, Visit Grand Junction, Visit Greeley, Visit Longmont and many more.

Also ready for sharing during National Travel and Tourism Week is the CTO’s brand-new keyboard full of Colorado-themed stickers, now live in the Apple and Google Play app stores. With the Official Colorado Stickers keyboard, fans can share fun messages incorporating such landmarks as Red Rocks, the iconic “Welcome to Colorful Colorado” sign or Denver’s Big Blue Bear and even invite visitors to “Leave No Trace.”

To learn more about the new stickers and access links to download, visit https://www.colorado.com/stickers and watch for new stickers to be added frequently.

The IPW tradeshow is on track to attract more than 6,000 travel professionals, including about 650 international media, who will converge on the Colorado Convention Center May 19-23. The show, which is coming to Denver for the first time since 1991, is expected to attract more than one million new travelers to Denver and Colorado in the next three years, generating an additional $1.6 billion in new traveler spending. The CTO is a major sponsor of the show, which is being hosted by VISIT DENVER.

National Travel and Tourism Week unites communities across the country to celebrate what travel means to American jobs, economic growth and personal well-being. Across Colorado, travel employs a diverse workforce, from airline and hotel employees to restaurant, attraction and retail workers, and supports related sectors such as construction, manufacturing and finance. Some of the numbers:

165,000 jobs are directly supported by travel and tourism in Colorado

The travel industry generates $1.2 billion in local and state tax revenues

In 2016, Colorado welcomed 82.4 million visitors who spent $19.7 billion

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