Like few other places on earth, Vail was founded to share an extraordinary mountain lifestyle with people from across the world. That was the vision of the two U.S. Army veterans who turned their former training grounds into a world-renowned resort community. In the 60 years since Vail rose from a lettuce patch and sheep grazing lands, tourism has been the lifeblood of our economy.
Vail’s Stewardship Roadmap charts that vision into the next 10 years to make sure our vital visitor economy continues to thrive. The five goals outlined in these pages take aim at the biggest threats to our continued success, especially the housing crisis that is impacting every aspect of our community life. It provides strategies to shape a stronger, more resilient tourism economy and manage our visitor patterns. It also outlines steps to safeguard and improve our biggest asset —the stunning, irreplaceable natural surroundings that define this place.
Most importantly, this Roadmap brings a sharp new focus to the purpose of Vail’s tourism economy. The reason we want tourism in Vail is because it lets our community sustain a remarkable way of life on this 10-mile ribbon of land between Vail Mountain and Interstate 70.
For much of our history, a main focus has been to shape Vail to meet the needs of our visitors. With this Roadmap, we formally recognize that building a strong tourism economy also requires a strong community. To this end, this Roadmap has been crafted to be “Community-Positive.” It complements other Vail plans aimed at enhancing our community and lays the groundwork for a broader community visioning plan.
By so many measures, Vail is an extraordinarily successful community. This plan is designed to equip us to embrace a new tourism mindset, to optimize outside forces, and continue on a path to success as defined by and to benefit the most important stakeholders, the Vail community.
**Action 1 **
Too many of the people we need in Vail are UNABLE TO LIVE here due to the affordability and availability of homes. The single biggest threat to OUR COMMUNITY and our tourism economy is a housing crisis that leaves vital jobs unfilled, erodes our population’s diversity, and threatens every aspect of community life, even the AVAILABILITY OF CHILDCARE. We can find bigger solutions and more resources by establishing new public and private partnerships and REMOVING BARRIERS to create more ways for people to build lives in Vail.
Action 2
Vail is known and loved for its back bowls, friendly locals, and TOP-FLIGHT EXPERIENCES, but warning notes are sounding. Visitor satisfaction fell in 2021, partly due to workforce shortages, while locals struggled with the stress of extra-long work schedules. Crowding, overuse of trails, and parking pressures prompted new policies. Shorter winters pose a looming threat. Equipping Vail’s tourism economy for FUTURE SUCCESS, resiliency, and balance requires new thinking.
Action 3
To make VAIL feel like a place where people live, not just visit, it’s essential to create ways for people to build ties as a community. That’s not easy when your town of 5,000 welcomes 2.5 MILLION VISITORS a year, about 60 per cent of homes have seasonal residents, and launching a LOCAL BUSINESS is RISKY and expensive. Many in Vail enjoy the vibe of mixing with visitors — and make it a point of honour to leave the famous ones in peace— but yearn for a stronger sense of community and a Vail WHERE LIFE IS FUN.
Action 4
To safeguard and enhance our beloved natural assets, we have EMBRACED CLIMATE ACTIONS and protections for the Gore Creek watershed and wildlife habitat. Our next 10 years will require dedication to BUILD ENERGY RESILIENCY, address vulnerabilities, and thrive as a sustainable mountain community. To reduce tourism impacts and ENHANCE VAIL’s VALUE for all, we must lead to inspire more action, locally and globally, and build PARTNERSHIPS TO EXPAND our results.
Like few other places on earth, Vail was founded to share an extraordinary mountain lifestyle with people from across the world. That was the vision of the two U.S. Army veterans who turned their former training grounds into a world-renowned resort community. In the 60 years since Vail rose from a lettuce patch and sheep grazing lands, tourism has been the lifeblood of our economy.
Vail’s Stewardship Roadmap charts that vision into the next 10 years to make sure our vital visitor economy continues to thrive. The five goals outlined in these pages take aim at the biggest threats to our continued success, especially the housing crisis that is impacting every aspect of our community life. It provides strategies to shape a stronger, more resilient tourism economy and manage our visitor patterns. It also outlines steps to safeguard and improve our biggest asset —the stunning, irreplaceable natural surroundings that define this place.
Most importantly, this Roadmap brings a sharp new focus to the purpose of Vail’s tourism economy. The reason we want tourism in Vail is because it lets our community sustain a remarkable way of life on this 10-mile ribbon of land between Vail Mountain and Interstate 70.
For much of our history, a main focus has been to shape Vail to meet the needs of our visitors. With this Roadmap, we formally recognize that building a strong tourism economy also requires a strong community. To this end, this Roadmap has been crafted to be “Community-Positive.” It complements other Vail plans aimed at enhancing our community and lays the groundwork for a broader community visioning plan.
By so many measures, Vail is an extraordinarily successful community. This plan is designed to equip us to embrace a new tourism mindset, to optimize outside forces, and continue on a path to success as defined by and to benefit the most important stakeholders, the Vail community.
**Action 1 **
Too many of the people we need in Vail are UNABLE TO LIVE here due to the affordability and availability of homes. The single biggest threat to OUR COMMUNITY and our tourism economy is a housing crisis that leaves vital jobs unfilled, erodes our population’s diversity, and threatens every aspect of community life, even the AVAILABILITY OF CHILDCARE. We can find bigger solutions and more resources by establishing new public and private partnerships and REMOVING BARRIERS to create more ways for people to build lives in Vail.
Action 2
Vail is known and loved for its back bowls, friendly locals, and TOP-FLIGHT EXPERIENCES, but warning notes are sounding. Visitor satisfaction fell in 2021, partly due to workforce shortages, while locals struggled with the stress of extra-long work schedules. Crowding, overuse of trails, and parking pressures prompted new policies. Shorter winters pose a looming threat. Equipping Vail’s tourism economy for FUTURE SUCCESS, resiliency, and balance requires new thinking.
Action 3
To make VAIL feel like a place where people live, not just visit, it’s essential to create ways for people to build ties as a community. That’s not easy when your town of 5,000 welcomes 2.5 MILLION VISITORS a year, about 60 per cent of homes have seasonal residents, and launching a LOCAL BUSINESS is RISKY and expensive. Many in Vail enjoy the vibe of mixing with visitors — and make it a point of honour to leave the famous ones in peace— but yearn for a stronger sense of community and a Vail WHERE LIFE IS FUN.
Action 4
To safeguard and enhance our beloved natural assets, we have EMBRACED CLIMATE ACTIONS and protections for the Gore Creek watershed and wildlife habitat. Our next 10 years will require dedication to BUILD ENERGY RESILIENCY, address vulnerabilities, and thrive as a sustainable mountain community. To reduce tourism impacts and ENHANCE VAIL’s VALUE for all, we must lead to inspire more action, locally and globally, and build PARTNERSHIPS TO EXPAND our results.
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