HomeMy Public PortalAbout03 Breckenridge Economic Development Plan
Economy
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Local Economy
Goals, Actions, Indicators & Targets
Goals
1. Focus on efforts to enhance and promote the
tourism related economy.
2. Strengthen marketing efforts toward new visitors.
3. Provide an atmosphere which focuses on economic stability in real estate and commercial trades.
Actions Underway
1. Maximize tourism marketing efforts
The Town’s main marketing arm is the Breckenridge
Resort Chamber (BRC). Recently the Town has also
established a marketing committee. The Breckenridge
Marketing Advisory Committee (BMAC) advises the
Breckenridge Town Council in marketing, advertising,
events and promotions of the community as a year-round
resort, and that which the Council determines are
beneficial to the economic vitality of the community. The
majority of these efforts are funded from the Town’s
Marketing Fund. This advisory group is comprised of six
community members representing the Lodging,
Restaurant/Retail and At- Large communities; a Town
Council member also serves on this committee.
2. Focus on Town economic development dollars towards tourism
BMAC has been focusing dollars designated solely for marketing in the Town budget on event
enhancement and marketing incentives geared toward group sales and potential new events.
3. Enhance Town recreation opportunities
The Town’s Open Space program has regularly increased the amount of trails in the Town and improved
the quality and maintenance of existing trails. The Recreation Department provides a diverse variety of
recreational programs for all ages. Private entities such as Vail Resorts have also added new recreational
attractions (e.g., the coaster ride).
4. Promote historic preservation efforts and increase retail and restaurant space
The Town’s Historic District is an attraction to visitors. Maintaining historic buildings in good shape is
important to retain the appeal of the Historic District. The town is currently looking at providing incentives
Strong Spring Break Visitation Boosts the Local Economy
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for historic structure stabilization through a change to the
development code that would allow for free basement density for
usable retail or restaurant space.
5. Provide economic indicator dashboard for business’ use
In January 2011, economic indicators were developed and
placed on the Town website. Indicators are focused on providing
information to the business community regarding both local and
national economic conditions that may affect local tourism. The
Town is continuing to monitor these and update the website on a
monthly basis in order to inform business owners of trends over
time. Examples of indicators include: local retail, real estate and
lodging sales, foreclosures, unemployment (local, state and
national), traffic numbers at the Eisenhower tunnel and Highway
9, and sales tax comparisons to other ski resort areas.
6. Encourage BRC to market heritage and arts opportunities
heritage sites
The Town actively supports the Breckenridge Heritage Alliance and the Arts District. Heritage and arts
tourism attracts a different demographic of visitors and offers an alternative form of entertainment. The
Town continues to encourage the BRC to promote a variety of activities that the Town offers.
7. Continue to enhance offerings at arts and heritage sites
The Town funds activities, events, and displays
at arts and heritage sites as a means of attracting
heritage and art visitors.
8. Maintain appropriate information
technology levels (e.g., wireless and
broadband) for businesses, visitors and
residents
The Town continues to monitor technological
capabilities and capacity to ensure adequate
information technology is provided for residents,
businesses and visitors. It may be necessary,
should service issues arise, to work in
conjunction with other resort communities to
ensure that any lack of technology capabilities is
recognized and addressed as an issue at the
state level.
Actions to be Undertaken within the Next Year
9. Engage lodging companies in promoting events, downtown retail and restaurants to their clients
Providing information to visitors can increase their participation in events and increase the frequency
they visit local commercial establishments. Lodging companies are in a unique position to distribute
Barney Ford House Restoration
A Piece from the Annual Sculpture on the Blue Event in the Arts
District
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information. Under this action, the Town/BRC would work closely with the lodging companies to provide
general information, brochures, event flyers, etc. for current and upcoming events as well as information
on restaurants and retail establishments.
10. Promote "Breck lifestyle"
through marketing to targeted
groups
The Gen X and Baby Boomer
generations are keys to
Breckenridge’s economic success.
Increased efforts toward marketing
to these groups will be a focus and
may include such topics as targeted
programming at the Riverwalk
Center, events and activities for
young families, and real estate
sales focusing on targeted lodging
needs.
11. Work on marketing and other
programs that increase lodging
occupancy rates year round.
Work on programs that
encourage day visitors/skiers to stay in Town longer to visit retail and restaurant establishments.
The Town will work with Breckenridge Resort Chamber (BRC), BMAC and Vail Resorts to market events
during slower visitation periods, and promote shopping, and dining after the end of the ski day (e.g.
utilizing signage inside the gondola cabins or utilizing variable message boards for events).
12. Enhance information on variety of activities available
Coordinate efforts by BRC, Lodging, Retail and Restaurant Associations and Vail Resorts on providing a
consistent message on the numerous entertainment options and special events available. Look at
enhancing a ―central clearance house‖ of information such as the BRC website (gobreck.com).
13. Enhance marketing efforts of the Town’s diverse recreational opportunities
Recreation is the primary driver of the Town’s tourism base. By increasing efforts to market different
recreational opportunities available (e.g., mountain biking, cross country skiing), the Town can
broaden its visitor base. Under this action, the BRC and Town Recreation Department would enhance
their marketing efforts related to alternative recreational opportunities.
15. Encourage second homeowners to utilize homes more and become invested in the community
Many retired business people own homes in Town and their experience could be beneficial to
organizations in the Town pursuing different economic development strategies. In addition, encouraging
second homeowners to utilize their properties more frequently can result in additional sales revenues in
the Town. This action is focused on courting these untapped resources in our community.
The Winter Dew Tour has become a popular early winter season event that
draws many participants and visitors
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Long term actions
16. Enhance restaurant or retail experience
through providing access to centralized reservation
systems.
The Town currently has ten wi-fi hotspot locations in
major public areas throughout the Town core and Town
facilities in which visitors can gain access to a centralized
reservation system such as Open Table. However, many
visitors are unaware of the locations available. Further
advertising wi-fi hotspot locations for access to
reservation systems or providing a computer for such
use at the Welcome Center could encourage visitors to
stay after the ski day and would provide better access to the information for overnight guests.
17. Promote redevelopment efforts to enhance property values
There are many properties in Town which are aging and outdated. The Town has already begun to see
some of these properties undertaking exterior remodels to provide a more attractive updated building.
Promoting efforts to enhance property values and preserve historic structures will make the community
retain its character for residents and visitors, employ those in the construction industry, and add usable
retail and restaurant square footage to the commercial core.
18. Pursue alternative revenue streams
Long term projections indicate that the existing revenue streams of Colorado municipalities will not be
able to keep pace with the growing demands for services and that Colorado communities are in need of
finding new revenue sources. The Town is considering pursuing new revenue streams such as a tax
on ski lift tickets. The revenue from such a tax could be used to for example, fund a fully integrated
transportation system with the ski area. Other alternative revenue streams could include a medical
marijuana tax.
19. Pursue opportunities for joint marketing partnerships with the Breckenridge Ski Resort
Although the Town, BRC, and ski resort coordinate frequently, additional steps could be taken to
maximize efficiencies of marketing efforts among the organizations.
Oktoberfest is a popular offseason event .
Before and after photos from a condominium renovation
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Economic Monitoring Indicators and Targets- Collected Monthly
Topic Indicators Targets
Unemployment
Local unemployment rate
State unemployment rate
National unemployment rate
Area median income
No significant increase over previous
month in unemployment rate. Also
monitors change from previous year to
date (due to seasonal job demand
changes).
Increase in area median income annu-
ally
Real Estate Local real estate sales
Foreclosure distressed properties
Number of building permits issued
Positive year to date growth in dollar vol-
ume of sales.
Reduction in number of foreclosure
properties from previous months.
Lodging
Lodging tax collections
6 month occupancy forecast
Monthly Average Daily Rate and
Revenue per Available Room
Increase in 6 month projected occu-
pancy forecast
Increase in monthly occupancy over pre-
vious year’s YTD
Sales Tax
Local sales tax collection in compari-
son with other Colorado resort com-
munities
Sales tax and accommodation tax
comparison
Turnover of Businesses
Positive trend over previous year’s YTD.
Increase in accommodation tax collec-
tions resulting in increased sales tax.
No net decrease in number of busi-
nesses or types of businesses.
National Indicators
S&P 500 compared to real estate
transfer tax
Consumer confidence index
Increase of monthly average real estate
transaction closing price.
Increase of monthly consumer confi-
dence index.
Traffic and Sales
Traffic counts at Eisenhower tunnel
and Highway 9
Highway 9 traffic counts and sales
tax collections
Maintain consistent capture rate of traffic
from Eisenhower to Highway 9 over
monthly YTD.
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