The Centennial Valley Tourism summit allowed local businesses to gain tourism information from key stakeholders in Wyoming’s tourism industry.
The event was co-hosted by the Wyoming Outdoor Recreation, Tourism and Hospitality (WORTH) Initiative, Visit Laramie, and the Albany County Tourism Board. WORTH Initiative director Dan McCoy said that the summit was made to help businesses, employees, and others involved in tourism in the Centennial Valley area of southeastern Wyoming.
“We want to arm them with information that could be useful for them going into what is likely going to be their busiest season-that being summer- from some stakeholders that will be beneficial for them to hear from,” McCoy said.
The event, which took place at the Trading Post in Centennial on April 27, was both an opportunity for WORTH to hear feedback from local businesses, but also a chance for research and data on tourism in the area to be presented.
Additionally, the summit functioned as a way to engage students with businesses in order to create access to connections and internships.
“We at the WORTH Initiative are looking to gather information on things that we can be doing here at the university to better support the tourism industry, especially in more rural areas but also in gateway communities like Centennial,” McCoy said.
The WORTH initiative, which launched in March, was established with the goal of further supporting Wyoming’s economy through its tourism efforts.
“We’re hoping to expand and diversify Wyoming’s economy through tourism and closely related industries like outdoor recreation and hospitality,” McCoy said.
McCoy said that the summit will help WORTH accomplish its three main pillars of focus: promoting extension and outreach, engaging in applied research projects, and expanding educational products and services.
In addition to WORTH, other stakeholders present at the conference included Visit Laramie, the U.S. Forest Service’s Laramie Ranger District, the Wyoming Office of Tourism, the Albany County Tourism Board, and the Wyoming Office of Outdoor Recreation.
McCoy said that some of the topics covered at the summit included economic analyses, as well as a survey that attempted to understand resident perceptions about tourism in Wyoming.
McCoy also said that the summit focused on the Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Management (ORTM) program at UW.
Some of the student capstone projects presented at the summit included work with the Snowy Range Ski Area studying mountain sports schools and comparing UW to its peer institutions.
