The Economic Council of Eagle County, historically funded by the Eagle County Board of County Commissioners, was incorporated in 2006 as a 501c3 corporation to “promote the long term economic health of Eagle County”. This group has done a variety of research and works closely with Eagle County government.
The Vail Valley Partnership, a 501c6 corporation, was founded in 1964 as the Vail Resort Association and has grown to fulfill the needs of the community as both the regional chamber of commerce as well as the regional destination marketing organization. The Vail Valley Partnership is a regional leader in sustaining & enhancing the Vail Valley as a tourism destination and as a place to do business by contributing to the identity and economic well-being of the Eagle River Valley. The VVP takes a leadership role to bring groups, meetings, events and leisure visitors to the Vail Valley for the economic benefit of the community and our member businesses.
Effective earlier this year, the Economic Council of Eagle County was consolidated into the Vail Valley Partnership in order to better serve the Eagle River Valley community.
What does this mean?
The ECEC via the Partnership will continue to conduct local research efforts on behalf of Eagle County and will also conduct a study of similar counties/municipalities to ensure we are doing the right research moving forward. Our economic development focus will to increase the productivity of our tourism-focused economy (via medical tourism) and opening the doors to future development and growth of our health & wellness activities to (long-term) result in new middle class jobs in Eagle County.
The Economic Council of Eagle County research has been incorporated into a newly branded “Economic Research Center” and new research will be commissioned. The research will be made available to interested parties including developers, business owners, resort operators and others to assist them in better understanding our community and the business opportunities available in Eagle County.
As we continue to search for ways to diversify our economy, health & wellness is a prime opportunity. The Town of Vail, the Steadman-Philippon Research Institute & the Vail Valley Medical Center are taking the lead with the new municipal/medical facility in Vail – which should have huge short and long-term positive benefits to our economy.
The Vail Valley Partnership is also supporting the Health & Wellness effort via our newly created signature programed titled the “Vail Valley Health & Wellness Initiative” which will focus on medical tourism via our group sales efforts. Various stakeholders in the Health & Wellness field are invited to participate. Building on the recent successes of various public and private strategies and by leveraging the already developed business model at the Vail Valley Partnership, the Initiative will further elevate the voice of the Vail Valley in the medical/health & wellness field by advocating our community’s proactive solutions for health care, fitness, nutrition, orthopedics, continuing education and our world class recreational opportunities. Our efforts to bring Continuing Medical Education and other medical meetings to the Vail Valley have proven successful in a relatively short time and we’re optimistic about the opportunities moving forward.
Last but certainly not least, we’ll be focusing on various efforts to increase regional and local collaboration and coordination. This umbrella area includes focused and regular actions designed to bring together elected officials and private industry representatives from all areas in the Eagle River Valley and to ensure our community and destination have a voice in various regional economic development opportunities.
What can your business do to help? If you benefit from these efforts, get off the sidelines and join the Partnership. If you are already a member, tell your neighbors to join to help us do more here in the valley.
As always, I encourage all member businesses to get engaged with the Partnership and to contact us with any suggestions you may have to help us better serve you and for non-members to join the Partnership. Call us at (970) 476-1000 or stop by our offices in Avon at Traer Creek Plaza to share your feedback.