A new era has dawned for the Discovery Pass, created by Salida locals, Angel and Nik Rowell. Originally developed to support local business in Chaffee County, the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed some of its functions.
Passes are offered May through October and November through April, one being the winter and the other being summer. The passes change based on activities that are available during those seasons.
The pass is a digital savings pass that get you freebies and discounts at local businesses in Salida, Poncha and Buena Vista. These can be anything from food, drinks, lodging and experiences. It is very tourism-based and focused however visitors along with locals can take advantage of it. The pass is $25 to purchase and offers roughly $600 in savings.
Angel Rowell told Ark Valley Voice, “Nik and I were sitting at happy hour and we looked at each other and thought what can we do to support this community? How do we show up for them because we’re so tourist-based, but how can the locals also take advantage of this? How can we support locals as well because it is literally the backbone of our community; small businesses that are thriving on people showing up and visiting.”
Discovery Pass Logo Courtesy of Buena Vista Chamber of Commerce
She continued “It wasn’t about money. We wanted to be part of the community and support them as much as we can. Discovery Pass was that lightbulb idea.”
Rowell went on to discuss how this year’s pass season unfolded due to the Global Pandemic knwon as COVID-19.
“With COVID, this was such an interesting time in our lives. We were set to have a record season within this last winter season. We were on pace and then March hit. We took more of a wait and see approach because we weren’t sure what our business owners needed. We launched it and people did sign up right away because they had been pass holders previously, but we didn’t promote it. We have been really hanging back and trying different marketing techniques.”
Not only did the two launch the pass, but were able to offer support to the community in another way. “We were able to support the community in other ways explained Rowell. “One of those was offering the virtual goodie bag this year for the Monarch Crest Crank. That was really fun to sponsor. So was the give-away of free passes as a donation to The Alliance. So, we were really thrilled to be a part of that this year as well.”
Reflecting on the past season’s offers Rowell said “food and drinks tend to be the most popular offers, but we have really cool offers that I know are just waiting for people to discover — things like rent-one, get-one with BV E-bikes. That is so much fun, to cruise up to St. Elmo, cruise up Cottonwood Pass or go through the tunnels. I just feel like they’re going to blow up any day now.”
The summer pass ends on October 31, and Nov. 1 begins the fall/winter pass. Locals and visitors alike can still sign up to take advantage of the summer savings and try something new, and get a jump on the fall/winter pass. To learn more about all the offers available or to sign up, click here.
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