STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — Barbara Robinson, general manager of Holiday Inn Steamboat Springs, was a bit surprised after reading a story about out-of-state visitors not being welcomed in Colorado.
“I have known of Cathy (Ritter) for almost 20 years,” Robinson said. “I don’t know anyone who loves Colorado tourism more than she does, so when I saw that, I was like, that doesn’t sound like her.”
> Above video: Colorado's new anti-tourism tourism campaign: 'If you truly love me, you'll wait for me.'
Ritter is director of the Colorado Tourism Office and was the source of a story published in the May 14 edition of Steamboat Pilot & Today with the headline, “Tourism officials ask travelers to stay away from Colorado.”
Ritter said the story didn’t accurately represent the interview or reflect what her office’s “Wait, Ready, Set, Go” marketing plan is all about.
“In no way did I ever say that Colorado might be urging travelers to stay away this summer,” Ritter said of her quotes in a story about marketing the state to tourists in the wake of the pandemic. “Obviously, our state is taking steady positive steps toward reopening with careful attention toward public health guidance. And we have been putting together, in consultation with state public health officials, a plan to reactivate Colorado’s tourism economy at the earliest opportunity.”
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