Trade shows in Denver to tout Colorado
GRAND JUNCTION» Imagine artists, musicians, distillers and beermakers mixing with policy shapers and gearmakers three times a year in Denver. That’s Luis Benitez’s vision for the Outdoor Retailer trade shows, which arrive in Colorado in January for a five-year run after a hard-won fight.
The more-than-a-trade-show plan looks something like this: Colorado destinations will come to Denver and pitch their places as potential new homes for gearmakers and trade show attendees; government officials and advocates will discuss recreational access, climate and public lands. It will be a purposeful party built around retail trade shows that spills well beyond the floor of the Colorado Convention Center.
“It’s Colorado’s job — it’s all of our jobs — to activate around the show,” Benitez, the state’s outdoor recreation industry chief, told a group at the Governor’s Tourism Conference on Thursday in Grand Junction. “It’s going to be super cool.”
The Outdoor Retailer trade shows in January, June and November mark a big moment for Colorado. It’s not just the annual economic bump for Denver — which is big, considering the combined Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show confab in January will draw about 20,000 attendees who already have booked more than 6,500 rooms, a showing that will probably be mirrored in June and November. It’s a chance for Colorado to pitch itself as the new home for all things outdoors.
Look at Ogden, Utah. That city was struggling when Outdoor Retailer set up shop at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City more than 20 years ago. Over that two-decade span, city leaders stormed the show every year, eventually luring 19 outdoor companies to Ogden.
Landing a company a year is not going to happen, said John Norton, the head of the Gunnison-Crested Butte Tourism Association, which this year hosted its first Outerbike bike rally, drawing 550 deep-pocketed mountain bikers to the valley’s wealth of bike trails.
“But if we can get a couple brands in five years, we’d be doing well,” said Norton, a former ski boss with Aspen Skiing Co. and Crested Butte Mountain Resort. “We have an opportunity to make an economic argument that of all the state’s great mountain towns, the Gunnison Valley
is the most affordable.”
Colorado’s economic boosters will be on stage during the trade shows, championing playgrounds and policies in hopes of enticing outdoor businesses to the state. Benitez, who heads outdoor recreation industry promotion for the state Office of Economic Development and International Trade, said the state’s rural destinations should take a page from Colorado’s pitch to Amazon, which is considering the state as a potential home for a second headquarters.
Amazon, like most companies, wants to hear about Colorado’s natural resources and how the state celebrates those special places, Benitez said. That’s how companies entice and retain employees.
“Yes, there are tax incentives. Yes, there’s all these other components, but they want to know what all these natural amenities are in your regions and in your towns and how their employees can potentially utilize them,” Benitez said.