Colorado State University will host the first Experience Tourism Naturally event on March 27 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will be held on the west lawn of the Lory Student Center. It is free and open to the public.
This student-centric event seeks to connect people who have a passion for outdoor recreation and the tourism industry. Organizers also said the event will celebrate nature-based recreation at CSU and across the state.
Free snacks, activities, opportunities to win prizes
Experience Tourism Naturally will include free snacks to fuel your next adventure, live music and virtual reality downhill skiing and snowboarding simulations. The event will also feature bike repair stations and outdoor recreation activities such as fly fishing, rock climbing and slacklining.
The 12:15pm keynote address will be presented by Cathy Ritter, director of the Colorado Tourism Office. With the support of the statewide tourism industry, Ritter has developed the Colorado Tourism Roadmap, a strategic plan identifying opportunities to sharpen the state’s competitive edge while promoting sustainable tourism and inspiring travelers to try less-visited destinations. .
Event sponsors will also be giving out door prizes.
Experience Tourism Naturally has more than 25 sponsors and partners, including the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office, Vail Resorts, Topo Designs, Eldora Mountain Resort, Noosa Yoghurt, Backpackers Pantry, Honey Stinger, Scheels, Leave No Trace, Outdoor Industry Association and the CSU Tourism Association.
A complete list of sponsors, event information, and activities can be found online.
CSU has storied history in tourism education
Experience Tourism Naturally was created by CSU’s Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, which boasts over 90 years of experience working in parks and protected areas. The department has one of the oldest and longest running nature-based tourism programs in the nation and aims to celebrate nature-based tourism and outdoor recreation locally and statewide.
This gathering presents an opportunity to get engaged with the Colorado tourism industry and find out about the innovative and industry-grounded tourism programs offered by the Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources.
The programs and curriculum emphasize courses in tourism management, marketing and planning, natural resource management, tourism business, and analysis to develop appropriate skills for creating or managing recreation and tourism enterprises.
