A free event that helps local businesses on ways to engage with local and state tourism offices will be in Pagosa Springs at the Ross Aragon Community Center on April 17.
According to Pagosa Springs Tourism Director Jennie Green, the Pagosa Springs tourism conference will help educate area businesses and has a start time of 9 a.m.
For example, sessions on social media will be held to help inform businesses on new, digital ways to engage consumers and tourism offices, Green noted.
“Just things for businesses that they may not be aware of. Just new tricks of the trade,” Green said.
Another session will be held on events and organizing events, as well as how Pagosa Springs is promoted to tourists, Green described.
“Most of what we would offer are going to be very inexpensive if not free for businesses, so social media, it’s going to take time more than money to engage in things,” Green said.
According to Green, Pagosa Springs hosted the event two years in a row in 2011 and 2012.
“We were the last destination to actually host that conference and that was in 2015,” Green explained. “We got more of a local attendance when we hosted the Southwest Tourism Conference.”
With the event not having been done in a couple years, Green noted that she thought it was time for it to return.
“I would be fine with making this an annual event. That’s going to based on engagement from the business community,” she said.
A key part of the conference is showing local businesses how to adapt and augment their existing marketing with the changing world, Green noted.
“Part of it is also making sure that businesses know that they can have a brochure at the Visitors Center at no charge, as long as they’re a tourism-related business,” Green said. “Really, this is educational, to just make sure everyone understands there’s a lot of different moving pieces and parts to promoting a destination, and we want the businesses to engage with us as much as possible.”
Per an event agenda from Green, the keynote speaker for the event will be Courtney Frazier, the co-vice chair for the Colorado Tourism Board.
According to the event agenda, the conference sessions will run from 9 a.m. through 5 p.m.
Some of the conference sessions will touch on topics such as: creating an engaging presence on social media, collaboration and understanding how Pagosa Springs is marketed to tourists.
In addition to the conference sessions, a networking event will be held at The Springs Resort and Spa in the EcoLuxe conference room from 5:15 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
For more information, contact the Pagosa Springs Vistors Center at 585-1200 or email sales@visitpagosasprings.com.
chris@pagosasun.com
