Promoting healthcare through tourism: that’s the goal of a new website launched by Colorado Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The site, Championship Care, hyper targets potential patients across the United States who are searching for a specific procedure they need. The search may just lead them to Colorado Springs.
Amy Long, chief innovation officer for Colorado Springs CVB, said, "It’s just an important part of our heritage."
Championship Care may be a new website to encourage medical tourism to Colorado Springs, but the concept is one that started more than a century ago.
Long said, "With our abundant sunshine, fresh air, and high altitude, it was a place that people came to to cure tuberculosis…while they weren’t cured by coming here they did benefit from the fresh air, the sunshine, and the walks."
Those benefits are still present in Colorado Springs today and are ready to welcome another generation of people from all over the country.
Long said, "Say you live in Dallas and you know that you need a knee replacement. You would search knee replacement options…and because of where you live and household income, your propensity to travel, you might see our site pop up in your organic search so you would click on it and it would say here’s some great reasons to travel from Dallas to Colorado Springs for your knee care."
After a procedure like knee replacement, Long says patients probably won’t be doing anything too active in the area, but would still enjoy "a peaceful and scenic drive through Garden of the Gods Park, witnessing our gorgeous sunrises and sunsets."
They’re activities that could lead to boosted tourism and more fuel for the Colorado Springs economy.
Long said, "When people travel for medical tourism they stay on average 14 days. They’re more than likely to stay in a hotel. They need to buy their meals. They may do some activities and they certainly are exposed to a beautiful place that they might want to come back and visit later, so we expect it to bring a lot of money into the region."
As of Thursday, CVB’s only partner was Penrose-St. Francis. CVB says other facilities are interested in partnering as well.
