The Dolores Chamber of Commerce is branching out as part of a wider vision to promote the region.
Director Rocky Moss is collaborating with the Cortez and Mancos chambers as part of a “tri-city chamber effort” to support businesses and tourism in Southwest Colorado.
“The idea is to network with each other, exchange information and pull the communities together,” she said.
Partnerships are also important in an era of potential budget cuts, Moss said.
Each chamber receives $30,000 per year from the Montezuma County Lodgers Tax fund, but the amount can go up or down depending on the economy.
Membership fees from businesses also help support local chamber budgets. And Moss sees opportunity in reaching out beyond town borders.
She has signed up several businesses outside Dolores to the Dolores chamber, including the KOA Campground, Abundant Life, FB Organics, and Durango Organics in Cortez, and the Rochester Hotel in Durango.
“First I promote our local businesses, then when visitors say they’re traveling to Cortez, Mancos or Durango, I recommend those chamber members,” Moss said. “The idea is that other visitor centers and chambers return the favor for travelers heading to Dolores.”
Crossover chamber memberships also helps direct visitors to resources that are not in Dolores. For example, there is no marijuana dispensary in Dolores, but now that Durango Organics in Cortez is a Dolores Chamber member, visitors seeking those services can be directed there.
As incentive, businesses outside Dolores can join the Dolores Chamber for a 25 percent discount, and pay just $75. Cortez and Mancos Chambers are offering similar discount for Dolores businesses.
In Dolores, the Sophia Bistro and Dolores Market are also members of the Cortez Chamber.
“For area businesses I hope it becomes a trend to sign up for multiple chamber memberships, because it benefits them and the region,” Moss said.
Other areas the Dolores chamber is focusing on are promoting RV parks, McPhee reservoir, area hiking and mountain biking trails, rafting, fishing, motorcycle trails, four wheeling, hunting, cross-country skiing, snow biking, and local events and festivals.
jmimiaga@the-journal.com
