Springs tourism leader Sullivan says goodbye

Twenty years to the day after taking the reins at the Colorado Springs convention and visitors bureau, Terry Sullivan reflected on his tenure Friday morning.

When he applied for the job, Sullivan said, his wife told him not to get his hopes up.

“I said, Laurie, if there ever were a job for which I was perfectly suited, this would be that position,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan announced earlier this year that he plans to retire at year’s end, so the anniversary was something of a first chance to say goodbye for the large group of tourism and community leaders who gathered at the Fine Arts Center to mark the anniversary.

“Terry has always been a true champion for Colorado Springs in promoting tourism,” said Mayor Lionel Rivera. “I try to be the top cheerleader for our region, but Terry is so much better at it.”

Tourism is a big employer and a big business in Colorado Springs, but it has faced a steady string of challenges during his tenure, Sullivan said. First, the ski resorts began to aggressively market themselves as summer destinations. Next voters ended the sales tax that supported the state tourism office. Later Sept. 11 slammed tourism and travel and, most recently, the recession that began in 2008 disproportionately hit business and group travel, disrupting the off-season bookings hotels rely on.

The key to overcoming all of those challenges, Sullivan said, was creativity and cooperation.

“I feel confident as I begin to prepare for my own exit that we are beginning to see a recovery,” he said.

Sullivan calculated that he’s attended 197 board meetings in his two decades at the bureau, and he figures he has four more to go before calling it a career.

“When I get to that level of 201, I’ll know that it’s time to ski and time to fish,” he said.

The convention and visitors bureau’s board of directors has begun the process of finding a new CEO. It hired a search firm to conduct a nationwide hunt for Sullivan’s replacement and plans to begin interviewing candidates in the fall, Sullivan said.

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