B Like Breckenridge

Project Overview

The Town of Breckenridge has released a communications and guidance program, and now a mobile app, called B Like Breckenridge. B Like Breckenridge provides sustainability-related information and education for visitors and residents. The program is managed by the Breckenridge Tourism Office, which created the platform to answer visitors’ frequently asked questions and to share wildlife and ecosystem education and information on sustainable alternatives. This has allowed Breckenridge to promote other initiatives, such as the Leave No Trace campaign, which encourages visitors to leave their surroundings better than they found them. The app also gives the tourism office a way to track which questions and topics visitors care about most, helping shape future updates to the app and its messaging. As the program grows, the tourism office plans to use the same approach to introduce new sustainability initiatives as they are developed.

Since its initial release in 2019, the program has updated its messaging and communications, transit options, trail maps, and local events. The campaign also reaches local businesses through the B Like Breckenridge Business Partnership, which more than 50 businesses have joined so far. Each business that registers gets a one-on-one meeting with the Breckenridge Tourism Office to figure out how to build sustainability into its everyday operations. This includes training staff and finding ways to cut carbon, energy use, and waste according to the business’s needs. Participating members commit to specific practices when they join, such as demonstrating inclusive workplace policies and working to lower their carbon footprint, energy use, and waste. Businesses can use resources such as Resource Wise, run by the High Country Conservation Center, to reduce or mitigate their impacts. Once completed requirements have been verified, partner businesses are listed in the app so visitors can find and support them directly.

As B Like Breckenridge has developed over the past few years, the Breckenridge Tourism Office has focused its efforts on tracking and promoting its use across the community and among visitors. The tourism office is still working to understand how the app influences visitor behavior over time, since there is currently no clear long-term impact data. Moving forward, the Breckenridge Tourism Office plans to keep measuring behavior change and usage of B Like Breckenridge to understand its sustainability impact.

Lessons Learned

Use Existing Forms of Communication

One of the first steps in building the program was answering the frequently asked questions recorded at Breckenridge’s Welcome Center, where visitors can easily be referred to the app for answers. This also built early engagement, as it motivated users to download and use the app in its early stages of development.

Involve Local Businesses

By involving local organizations and businesses in the initiative, both the tourism office and the businesses themselves benefit from promoting the program. Businesses that get involved and commit to completing the required tasks described above are rewarded with incentives, including promotional content.

Connect Individual Actions to Goals

By encouraging residents and visitors to make small changes, such as using public transportation and leaving no trace on trails, individuals can contribute to Breckenridge’s goals of reducing emissions and protecting the natural environment while still making the most of their visit.

Track and Measure Usage

As the program continues to be promoted across the community, the tourism office tracks usage and user experience to make sure future updates and additions keep improving the app to best suit its users’ needs.