Director of Destination Development & Sustainability

The Governor’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade (“OEDIT”) was created to foster a positive business climate that encourages quality economic development through the support of local and regional economic development activities throughout the State of Colorado. A comprehensive slate of programs within OEDIT’s divisions work together to offer economic development services for all Colorado businesses – new and expanding, traditional and emerging, small and large – including retention programs to ensure continued competitiveness of Colorado’s economic base, and job training to keep Colorado’s workforce the best in the nation.

As a Division within OEDIT, the Colorado Tourism Office (CTO) mission is to drive traveler spending through promotion and development of compelling travel experiences throughout the state. The CTO promotes Colorado to travelers through domestic and international marketing, public relations, social media, influencers, the Official State Vacation Guide and colorado.com and provides traveler services at ten Colorado Welcome Centers. The CTO collaborates with destination marketing organizations, local communities, industry associations, government agencies and private businesses both to inspire Colorado travel and support development of new travel opportunities. The CTO is focused on providing support for Colorado’s tourism industry and positioning Colorado as the premier U.S. destination for active, outdoor and unique experiences.

Description of Job

The Destination Development program empowers Colorado tourism industry partners to develop, manage, and promote visitor experiences that align with their competitive advantage as a destination and help protect their unique sense of place. This innovative economic development program is structured as a statewide collaboration to develop and promote new tourism offerings aimed at enticing visitors to step off the beaten path, discover hidden gems and engage in a myriad of authentic culinary, outdoor recreation, heritage, creative arts and agricultural experiences.

The Director of Destination Development & Sustainability works to design, deliver and report on industry programs that provide strategic guidance, capacity building, and implementation resources for Colorado tourism destinations, industry associations, and private businesses. The Director of Director of Destination Development & Sustainability works collaboratively with the entire CTO team, CTO Destination Development Committee, state agencies, destination marketing organizations, and tourism industry associations to develop and promote high-quality visitor experiences that drive increased traveler spending, enhance resident quality of life, and protect the integrity of Colorado’s cultural and natural resources.

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Management

• In concert with key stakeholders, CTO Director and CTO Deputy Director, Destination Stewardship, manages initiatives to drive economic growth through tourism, primarily through the creation of high-quality, sustainable visitor experiences in Colorado destinations.
• Oversees CTO’s Destination Development programming to provide capacity across the state to advance tourism-related projects.
• Develops and manages an annual budget to support program initiatives.
• Provides direction for the Senior Manager of Destination Development.
• In collaboration with CTO Deputy Director, Destination Stewardship, recruits members of the Destination Development Committee to represent and generate awareness for all segments of the program in all parts of the state.
• Manages effective communication with the Destination Development Committee, Colorado Tourism Board, and other industry partners engaged in destination development.
• Manages outreach to build an understanding of opportunities to drive economic growth through sustainable product creation and new visitor experiences.
• Establishes and reports against metrics to measure program outcomes, with regular reporting of results to the CTO Director and Deputy Director, Destination Stewardship the CTO Destination Development Committee and the Colorado Tourism Board.
• Other duties as requested by CTO Director or Deputy Director, Destination Stewardship.

Capacity Building Programming

• Directs development and growth of Colorado tourism experiences showcasing Colorado as a premier destination for heritage, cultural, outdoor recreation and agritourism travel opportunities.
• Directs the development and implementation of industry training and planning resources through a series of dedicated capacity-building programs and on-demand technical assistance for the Colorado tourism industry.
• Supports the development of other educational offerings for tourism destinations and tourism industry associations, including educational experiences for the annual Governor’s Tourism Conference and regional tourism conferences, as requested.
• Maximizes opportunities to secure and leverage funding support for programs from local, state, and federal government sources or private sources.
• Collaborates with other state agencies, including other divisions of the Office of Economic Development and International Trade, on initiatives that support economic development through tourism.

Destination Stewardship 

• Develops and manages programs that support the implementation of the Destination Stewardship Strategic Plan.
• Develops and manages an annual budget to support destination stewardship programs and initiatives.
• Provides input on destination stewardship indicators.  
• Provides input on educational offerings related to destination stewardship. 
• Collaborates with other state agencies, including other divisions of the Office of Economic Development and International Trade, on initiatives that support destination stewardship. 
• Supports new destination stewardship initiatives as requested by the CTO Director or Deputy Director, Destination Stewardship.

Marketing & Communications

In collaboration with the CTO marketing team and in keeping with the CTO brand:

• Provides input for the promotion of heritage, cultural, outdoor recreation and agritourism offerings through CTO marketing, public relations, promotional, and social media campaigns.
• Provides input and supports development of content highlighting travel experiences for Colorado.com and for CTO publications and collateral, including the Official State Vacation Guide and the Official State Highway Map.
• Provides input on media requests related to CTO destination development programs and statewide strategies.
• Provides input to the CTO Communications and CTO PR team on opportunities to build awareness of success stories related to CTO destination development initiatives.
• Elevates the mission and values of the CTO and OEDIT

COMPETENCIES: 

Leadership: Creates and communicates CTO and OEDIT vision; engages others to implement vision; builds enthusiasm, participation and positive morale and loyalty; takes charge of groups and situations; sets a strong leadership role by walking the talk; promotes a safe, challenging work environment.

Strategic Planning: Identifies and analyzes organizational opportunities; accurately forecasts trends and emerging needs; frames strategic questions; makes decisions and deploys resources in alignment with strategic priorities; plans for future problems and opportunities by forecasting business trends and outside forces.

Negotiation & Issue Resolution: Openly manages conflict and disagreement through collaborative discussion to reach positive conclusions; arrives at constructive solutions while maintaining positive working relationships; seeks win-win situations; diplomatically explores common and opposing options to reach mutually acceptable positive solutions.

Read the full job description here