Base museum, lodging a draw for visitors

Published July 5, 2007
By Corey Dahl
21st Space Wing Public Affairs

PETERSON AFB, Colo. -- Millions of visitors flock to Colorado Springs each summer, visiting Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, the Olympic Training Center...

And some of them - just a few - stop here.

Thanks to its historic base museum and affordable lodging program, Peterson attracts a few thousand visitors and tourists to the base each year. The Peterson Museum averages about 12,000 visitors annually, while base lodging hosts roughly 90,000 stays a year.

The numbers pale in comparison to the city's other military attractions - in 2006, the Air Force Academy recorded 650,000 visitors, according to the Colorado Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau. Still Peterson's guests are guaranteed good value for their tourist dollars.

Most lodging visitors are traveling for business - servicemembers transitioning between stations, Airmen attending the NCO Academy and visiting dignitaries. But leisure travelers and groups, from vacationing retirees to Boy Scout troops, fill up the rest of the rooms.

Travelers are attracted to the base's accommodations because they're so affordable, said Master Sgt. Manuel Perez, assistant manager with Pikes Peak lodging. Lodging charges between $24.50 and $44.50 a night for a room, a bargain compared to Colorado Springs' downtown hotels, which can average about $70 a night.

"Unless you're in a big RV staying at a campground, lodging is the cheapest price you're going to find," Sergeant Perez said. "I mean, downtown can't even compete."

Peterson's other big draw is its museum. Housed in part of Colorado Springs' original airport, the 8.3-acre site is a state historic district featuring 16 aircraft and missiles as well as exhibits on aviation and space history in the area. Best of all, there is no charge for admission.

Visitors from as far away as the United Kingdom and Korea, mostly aviation buffs or former military, regularly make a point of stopping by the museum, said Gail Whalen, the museum's director. But parents with airplane-obsessed children, school groups and international tours are also drawn to the site.

"A lot of (visitors) are military, but a greater number of them are civilians who have nothing to do with the military," she said. "They just hear about us and want to come."

That was certainly the case for Connor Lambeth. In town to visit family friends this June, the 8-year-old from Springfield, Mo., couldn't wait to visit the museum's airpark once he heard about it.

"The airplane park here is a favorite place to bring the kids," said Barbie Reed, who brought the Lambeths on base and is married to a retired Airman. "People, especially kids, who haven't been around the military don't really understand the planes, what the Air Force does, until we bring them here."

Colorado Springs counts tourism as its third largest industry and Peterson appreciates the visitors as well.

"I think it really benefits everyone," Sergeant Perez said. "We really market base services to people who stay here - the bowling alley, the BX, the food places - but we also give them information about things to do off base, so they're going out and spending time there, too."

Peterson tourism