Colorado Springs, Colorado
A Community Impact Story
Visit Colorado Springs: Creating Accessible Travel Experiences Throughout the Community
Social Impact Framework: Accessibility
What was the issue you were trying to address?
In 2021, Visit Colorado Springs co-sponsored a study conducted by MMGY Global and the U.S. Spinal Association that studied travelers with mobility disabilities. These findings were incredibly eye opening for us as an organization – it highlighted key pain points for travelers with disabilities and gaps where Visit Colorado Springs could step up to help improve.
Pain points for travelers included lack of accurate information in the planning phase, accommodations not matching what was booked online, and accessible transportation (specifically airline travel). This led us to ensure that more accurate, detailed accessibility information is available to visitors through a partnership with Wheel the World.
What were the stated objectives of this initiative?
To encourage our bookable experiences (lodging/attractions) to join our efforts to in partnership with Wheel the World, in turn, showing all visitors they can have a great experience in Colorado Springs.
What were the specific metrics you used to measure the success of your efforts?
We are using two metrics to measure success: The number of properties joining us to get listed on Wheel the World, and the number of users booking Colorado Springs lodging and experiences through the Wheel the World website.
What were the specific outcomes and results of your efforts?
As of August 2024, we completed our Destination Verified project with Wheel the World!
We secured additional grant funding to pursue a media assets project with Wheel the World, where their team orchestrated a video and photo shoot around our region to showcase the accessible attractions and offerings. View the video here.
We will leverage these assets (which include a full-length video, social clips, and photos) in an advertising campaign later in 2024 and then consistently after that to promote our accessible offerings.
Is there any other information you'd like to share?
We are thrilled to have a partnership with Wheel the World. We are working diligently to get our bookable partners on board to be listed on their site.
The main lessons we've learned are to set small goals at a time and put in the work to clearly communicate with our partners the importance of prioritizing inclusive travel. Wheel the World was able to help tremendously with this. Upon receiving some initial push back and hesitation, WTW held an informational webinar for our partners where they could ask questions, voice concerns, and hear directly from the team on why this work was so important.
Additionally, we've really leveraged the idea that this work is all about managing expectations and letting visitors make decisions for themselves. Properties never get "graded" on their accessibility or receive negative feedback, because what is accessible for one person may not be for others. So, we aim to provide as much information as possible, so guests know what to expect, how to prepare for a visit, and are not disappointed upon arrival.
Alexea joined Visit COS in February 2020 after spending five years at a public relations agency. She oversees internal and external communications, including media and influencer relationships, crisis communications, social media strategy and editorial content. An innovator and breaker of the status quo, Alexea was awarded a Colorado Inno "Inno on Fire" award in 2019 for her work on several Colorado-based PR campaigns. When she’s not coordinating media visits and building out content calendars, you can find her hitting the hiking trails or grabbing a bite at her favorite local restaurants.
Sheridan moved to Colorado Springs following college graduation in 2020 and never looked back. With a passion for accessibility and inclusion, Sheridan weaves inclusionary work into all channels of communications at Visit COS. She works to produce the organization’s podcast, Peak Into COS, plan media and influencer visits, local media outreach and more. When not at work you can find her at a local bookstore or concert!