PhD PROPOSAL FOR A STUDY: University of Derby, United Kingdom

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TOURISM ON VAIL, COLORADO,THE WHITE RIVER NATIONAL FOREST,AND

ITS REGIONAL COMMUNITES

August 15, 2001

Brian M Touray MSc Griffith University

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Introduction

Revisions to the Colorado State tourism tax in 1992

resulted in necessary restructuring of the tourism offices

and the scope of how that entity conducts its business. New

visions for the State's tourist attractions and resorts,

with emphasis on forging an alliance of environmentalists,

communities, resort destinations and tour packagers in the

White River National Forest region, has impacted well-known

and frequented areas such as Vail (ranked the No. 1 ski

area in North America according to Ski Magazine) and Aspen

resorts, and the surrounding communities. The collaborative

effort, in conjunction with revised legislation, intends to

create a sustainable tourism project, designed to promote

the economic development of the most rural and economically

struggling communities as well as preserve the habitat.

The Colorado Tourism Board and Tourism Authority had

shouldered this burden of promoting Colorado tourism, with

dwindling funds to help protect unspoiled habitats. Because

the separate entities were working toward the same goals

and competing for funding, the Colorado Tourism Office, to

resolve environmental, economic and tourism-related issues,

was formed ("Colorado Tourism board Holds Initial Meeting",

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2000). Today, however, Colorado remains the only state

without a state-financed tourism promotion operation.

Statement of Problem

The proposed study will examine the economic impact of

tourism on Vail and the surrounding regional community, in-

light of these developments. Priorities placed on physical

and biological resources, as well as available funding,

have expanded the economic impacts on established tourist

and resort attractions, as well as the surrounding rural

communities. Proposed changes in forest planning and

uncertainty about changes initiated at the national level

add to questions about future growth and health of tourism

in the White River National Forest area.

Public involvement is viewed as a key issue and goal

in regional collaborating and economic area growth. For

example, not only do Vail and Aspen attract ski and snow-

oriented tourism, but the upper Colorado River area also

has experienced local economic impact from the tremendous

growth in Commercial River rafting over the past decade.

Busloads from rafting companies in Vail and Aspen pack

surrounding areas, but until local commercial regulations

and use fees were implemented; impacts on the cities and

their parks were not adequately accounted for Grauer,

1999).

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The argument of this paper will be that, with some

effort, environmentalists focused on habitat and wildlife

conservation, agency impact estimators, local communities

and the tourism industry can all effectively collaborate to

enhance, rather than destroy Colorado's economic and

recreational stability.

Literature Review of Tourism Impacts on the Area: One of the primary issues is Colorado's reluctance to

promote itself. Through the oil crisis, Colorado's tourist

industry pulled it through. The last year 2/10 if 1 percent

sales tax was imposed on tourist-related purchases, $11

million was collected and primarily used for advertising to

keep Colorado in the forefront of people's minds when they

do vacation planning. That tax is gone and alternative

funding has had to be found. ("Tourism Promotion A Must",

1998).

Growth in tourism particularly in the skiing and

rafting industries has been increasing an astounding rate.

It is estimated that by 2003, commercial rafting in

Colorado will grow to 800,000 per total user day period,

which is a projected 8.4 percent increase annually (Grauer,

1999). Meantime, the forest around Vail, Breckenridge, and

Aspen record approximately 12 million visits per year, the

fifth highest of any national forest. The forest is

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responsible for 34,000 jobs and $720 million in revenue

annually. However, a proposal to restrict ski area growth

and off-road vehicle use in an effort to protect the

busiest national forest in the Rockies, creates concern and

pits ecosystem health against human use and employment

("Critics: Forest proposal would raise ski costs, hurt

disabled", 2000).

The shift from promoting human uses of the forest to

preserving physical and biological resources on public

lands is a new concept. Public involvement and input was

requested in creating alternative proposals. Proposed

planning rules required input of informal advisory groups

to coordinate and provide outside knowledge on local

conditions and topics of interest and concern. The White

River National Forest agencies intent is clear, but the

opportunities for local residents and communities to get

involved were limited due to the large regional expanse

(Webb, "Planning rule changes…", 1999). Proposals and

managed alternatives have been developed, however. The

Forest Service agency has committed to maintain sustainable

ecosystems by primarily providing social responsibility and

environmental sensitivity, including these additional

proposed alternatives: 1) maintain existing recreational

development, 2) use timber harvesting and fire and

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structural improvements to promote habitat types, 3)

continue to provide recreational activities focused on

utilization of resources such as vegetation management,

livestock grazing and mineral development, 4) promote ski-

based resorts, outfitter and guide activities which bring

people to the forest and which emphasizes retaining the

wildness of the land, allowing recreation to continue as

long as it does not impair the forest's natural process,

animals or native plants (Kelley, 1999). All but one of

these proposed alternatives results in estimated forest-

related employment of between 43,153 and 43,610. The

converse to this, is that any of the proposals would still

result in more than 2,000 fewer jobs than if skiing or

other human uses were the primary concern ( Webb,

"Preferred alternative…", 1999).

In 1999, the Colorado Tourism Award was bestowed on

the Dinosaur Diamond Partnership for developing cooperative

tourism marketing around a fossil resource theme. The

example of this small town of "Fruits, CO", which was the

developed, exemplifies success in forging cooperative

partnerships among business, government and community

groups. The development includes a museum, campground, and

state park. The community leveraged limited funds by

providing seed capital and then by creating an environment

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supportive of additional investment by others. The

collaborative effort was developed to promote economic

development in a mostly rural and economically struggling

region. These communities are now looking to tourism

development as a way to diversify and stabilize their local

economies ("The Dinosaur Diamond Partnership:…", 1999).

The Dinosaur Diamond Partnership is an example of how

Vail and its surrounding communities in the White River

National Forest region may collaborate, with limited

capital, to sustain the ecosystem and preserve the habitat

and wildlife without compromising the revenue and economic

growth and stability of the resort and recreational

facilities and communal areas.

Organization of the Study:

The study will be organized in five chapters:

Introduction (Statement of Problem), Review of the

Literature, Methodology, Findings, and Conclusions and

Recommendations.

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TENTATIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Colorado Tourism board Holds Initial Meeting." Marketing News. August 14, 2000, Vol. 34, I. 17, p. 1-8. "Critics: Forest proposal would raise ski costs, hurt disabled." The Glenwood Post: Search Glenwood.com. February 24, 2000. Grauer, Bernie. "Regional rafting business up 38 percent last year." Search Vail.com: Business. May 9, 1999. Kelley, Anne-Marie. "Forest prefers habitat recovery in draft plan." Search Vail.com: News. August 1, 1999. Randles, Jeff. "Tourism Promotion A Must." Colorado Business. March 1998, Vol. 25, I. 3, p. 54. "Rare alliance in the Rockies strives to save open spaces." New York Times. August 14, 1998, Vol. 147, I. 51249, p. A1. Rice, Heidi. "Courting the Front Range." Search Vail.com: Feature. March 7, 1999. "Start-ups in tourism urged." Entrepreneur. March 1995, Vol. 23, I. 3, p. 26. "The Dinosaur Diamond Partnership: A regional initiative million of years in the making." Public Management (US). February 1999, Vol. 81, I. 2, p. 15. Webb, Dennis. "Preferred alternative would slow job growth." Search Vail.com: News. August 5, 1999. Webb, Dennis. "Planning rule changes could impact local forest." Search Vail.com: News. December 2, 1999. Brian M Touray MSc. Tourism Management Griffith University, Australia