Visit Aurora! It's not a tourist trap, but the Denver suburb hopes you'll stay for a spell

You'd probably never honeymoon in Aurora, Colorado. But city officials hope the strip mall-laden Denver suburb will attract visitors from several niche demographics, including obscure conferences, sick people (and their loved ones) who come to be treated at the city's top-notch hospitals, and huge youth sports tournaments. To help lure...

By Melanie Asmar

March 7, 2012

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You'd probably never honeymoon in Aurora, Colorado. But city officials hope the strip mall-laden Denver suburb will attract visitors from several niche demographics, including obscure conferences, sick people (and their loved ones) who come to be treated at the city's top-notch hospitals, and huge youth sports tournaments. To help lure them in, the city created Visit Aurora, its very own tourism organization. Can the three-person team turn Aurora into a hot spot? Read more in this week's cover story, "Wish You Were Here."

Melanie Asmar is a staff writer for Westword. She joined the paper in 2009 and has won awards for her stories about education, immigration and epic legal battles. Got a tip? She'd love to hear it.

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