EXPERIENCE COLORADO SPRINGS LEADS THE WAY WITH FOREIGN LANGUAGE BROCHURES Convention and Visitors Bureau first in Colorado to offer Chinese brochures

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO (December 14, 2006) Experience Colorado Springs at Pikes Peak, the Colorado Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau, has taken the lead in reaching out to the rapidly-expanding Asian tourist market by producing the state’s first printed and electronic brochures in Chinese and Korean. “We are proud to be the first Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) in the state to offer brochures in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean,” says Jo-Ellen Mesa, CMP, Senior Sales Manager for Experience Colorado Springs at Pikes Peak. “We also offer brochures in Spanish, German, French and Japanese and were first in the state to translate our brochures into Russian, Dutch, Portuguese and Italian.”

Mesa’s dedication to international tourism is evident. As an integral member of several major organizing committees, including the International Promotions Committee at the Colorado Tourism Office (CTO), she has extensive experience with international and national sporting and cultural events including three world cup competitions. She is fluent in German and Spanish and is able to converse in Dutch, Russian and French.

Mesa was instrumental in bringing the Japan-America Grassroots Summit to The BROADMOOR in September of 2006. She also booked the prestigious Go West Summit, which host more than 350 travel writers, international tour operators, receptive operators, and U.S. Embassies from all over the world at The BROADMOOR. This event, which will take place in January of 2008, will create an extraordinary opportunity for the Bureau to showcase the Pikes Peak Region to the global market.

“With so many opportunities to showcase our region to the international market on the horizon, it was especially important for us to translate our information into Chinese,” she says. “Denver International Airport is currently working to establish a direct flight to Tokyo. This will open up the entire Asian market to the state of Colorado and the Pikes Peak Region.”

Mesa will also be joining the CTO at the world’s largest tourism trade show in Berlin, Germany in March 2007 to help promote the Pikes Peak Region. Anyone interested in getting involved with the international market is invited to contact her at 719-635-7506, ext. 135 or toll free at 800-888-4748, ext. 135 or via email at JMesa@ExperienceColoradoSprings.com