Photo from Breckenridge Tourism Office
It has come to my attention that it would be useful to provide some background and further clarification on the Breckenridge Tourism Office’s town council update
One of the four goals that our community established during our 2019 Destination Management Plan process was to “firmly establish Breckenridge at the leading edge in mountain environmental stewardship and sustainable practices.” Overwhelmingly, the highest priority strategy under that goal is to “develop cutting-edge messaging/programs around responsible tourism and responsible citizenry, which extends beyond environmental issues.”
Over the past year, the tourism office has been working on a number of initiatives, including the local rollout of our “B Like Breckenridge” responsible tourism narrative and video at GoBreck.com
Photo by Liz Copan / Summit Daily archives
Breckenridge Town Council and Breckenridge Tourism Office officials said Tuesday that they intend to reassess the town’s events after the pandemic, undertaking a renewed focus on what tourism office President Lucy Kay described as “responsible tourism.”
“The goal that we’ll have and it’s consistent with other more progressive (destination-marketing organizations) is looking for ways we can target guests whose value sets align with ours,” Kay said Tuesday. “… Figure out who are people who think about the environment, who think about other people, who think about the world in a similar way to us, and try to invite those people in first.”
It’s a bit odd to think about how important snow has been for much of my career.
As a teacher at Detroit Public Schools, anytime a snowstorm was forecast for the area, we educators would flush ice cubes down the toilet, wear our pajamas inside-out and sleep with a spoon under our pillows in the hopes of currying the favor of whatever power controlled the weather between Telegraph Road and Lake St. Clair.
Every teacher I knew across the district shared in this tradition, and I came to understand that the only people who wanted a snow day more than students were the teachers.
As cancellations due to lodging restrictions increase, some visitors are struggling to secure refunds for trips booked before restrictions were in place. Tim Osborn, who lives in Louisiana, planned to visit Breckenridge over the holidays.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include more recent lodging occupancy data.
Predictions for lodging occupancy from Christmas to New Year’s, which is typically one of the biggest booking periods of the year, vary as cancellations and last-minute bookings continue.
While some lodging establishments have good news ahead of the holidays by being able to open in-person dining services through the state’s five-star program, limiting bookings to one household has become a major hindrance for the industry.
At a community update meeting Monday, Dec. 21, Breckenridge Tourism Office CEO and President Lucy Kay said lodging was running around 85% occupancy last weekend. Kay cited a Nov. 30 report from DestiMetrics that forecast lodging occupancy to be in the 90% to 95% range from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. However, she said forecasts are changing rapidly as people book and cancel at the last minute.