Welcome to Vacationland
What is Vacationland about?
How tourism transformed the West, especially Colorado
How did the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad influence the development of tourism in Colorado?
It gave the mountains direct exposure and sold the Western frontier as an essential experience through advertising
What was the biggest unforeseen economic results of moving Western towns to a tourism-centered economy?
Unaffordable living circumstances
What damage did tourism infrastructure cause to the environment?
Discussion
T/F This 1950s Colorado ad aimed to sell locals on tourism's economic benefits and encouraged them to see the high country from a tourist's perspective.
True
What city in Colorado was used as an entry point for several tourist and visitors traveling to the Rocky Mountains?
Denver, Colorado
How did social class influence the dynamics of early tourism as people traveled by train?
To be of a certain social class to access the old west.
In what way did the seasonal aspects of tourism create an unstable economy in Western towns?
Outsourcing
What type of environmental problems were created by tourism infrastructure?
Natural disasters
At Denver’s Winter Park ski area in the 1940s, what key feature transported skiers up the slope?
J-bar tow
What was a significant factor that altered perceptions of the American West?
Discussion
How did tourism fueled railroad expansion lead to environmental degradation and at the expense of ecosystems and indigenous lands?
Deforestation, water depletion, habitat destruction, and indigenous communities displaced
How did tourism bring about new economic inequalities in the West?
Rich vs poor
How does travel effect the environment in regard to tourism?
increased waste generated by businesses and pollution from tourist traveling on the highway
T/F Aspen’s Wheeler Opera House stood as a vibrant hub of activity during the late Depression years
False
What was a significant factor that altered perceptions of the American West?
Discussion
How did local businesses work with rail companies to develop a tourist economy that works together?
They collaborated with hotels, tours, etc., to establish deals that encouraged staying longer and to come back.
What type of transportation methods came about specifically because of tourism?
Air travel
What benefit does moving to a tourist based economy have for the environment?
Extractive processes are no longer taking place
T/F The Maroon Bells became a clichéd symbol of Colorado tourism, appearing in ads, maps and brochures throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
True
What was the importance of the "rustic aesthetic" in Western architecture?
The old west
In what ways and how did the growth of railroad networks serve the development of the economy in the West?
The region changed from being mainly extractive (mining and agriculture) to an economy driven by tourism because it allowed easy access to the beautiful parts of the area.
What did tourism bring to Colorado that it didn’t have before?
Diversification of available commodities
How does expedited tourism affect the environment?
Carbon emissions
Which of these figures was NOT featured in Aspen’s transformation image at the Four Seasons Club photo
John Denver