Visit the “How to Apply” page of this website for a step-by-step description of how to apply to his seminar. On the “How to Apply” page, se sure to click “Apply Here” to be redirected to our online application form.

To finalize your application, you should upload the following when prompted during the last step of the online application:

1. CV or resume (no more than 2 pages as a Word document or PDF),
2. A copy of your passport photo and information page (if you have a passport),
3. A copy of your US visa (if you have one),
4. A letter of institutional support (or letter of recommendation if self-employed or a student).
5. A photo of yourself that we can use in our “participant profile document.”

The deadline for applications is December 5, 2025. All of the information requested in the application form is required in order to finalize your application. We do understand that some applicants will not have a passport or visa at the time they apply. If this is true in your case, please submit your application and notify us of your missing documents via e-mail at [email protected]. If selected as a participant, you will have an opportunity to acquire your passport and/or visa.

In this case, please complete your online application. Upload what supplemental documents you can. Separately, please send an email with an explanation of why one or more of these supplemental documents have not been included in your application to [email protected].  Please do not put off the process of acquiring these important documents as in some countries the process of getting visas and passports can take a long time.

Candidates will be notified as soon as possible after the deadline to apply for admission to the seminar. Depending on the number of applications, this process can take several weeks but normally expect communication from us by mid-December. Once the selection is complete, you will receive an email from the organizers of the seminar confirming the status of your application (not accepted, provisionally accepted pending submission of additional documentation, provisionally accepted pending confirmation of funding, or accepted based on confirmed funding).

The registration fee for the seminar is US $7,250.00 and includes ground transportation from Denver to Fort Collins at the beginning of the seminar, van transportation throughout the seminar, and transportation to the Denver airport at the end of the seminar. The seminar fee also includes tuition, seminar materials, accommodation (mostly camping), meals, insurance (health and accident), a certificate of completion, a digital library on tourism and protected areas, seminar photographs, all administrative costs and a closing banquet. Note that the emergency accident insurance requires payment of a co-pay and deductible, meaning you will be responsible for some out of pocket costs associated with medicine or doctor or hospital visits.  You may consider adding on an additional insurance from your home country to provide additional coverage.

It is the responsibility of applicants and/or their agencies or sponsors to cover the costs of passports and US visas where needed, as well as the costs of ground transportation within their countries to their departure airport for the US and again between that airport and their home cities on their return to their countries.

It is recommended that each participant bring about USD $250 to fund personal expenses such as phone calls, your portion of the deductible and co-pay for health insurance for any medical services rendered while in the USA, souvenirs, toiletries, gifts and personal items you might wish to buy, etc. If you would like to bring additional funds for rain gear and hiking boots, those can be purchased in Fort Collins during the initial days of the seminar.

Please note that you do not need to get per diems from your donor or sponsor for the time you will spend in the USA as all meals (reasonably priced), ground transportation costs, coffee breaks, and accommodation costs (mostly camping) will be covered by your course fee, unless you plan on spending additional work-related time in the USA or have to stay overnight in route to or from the seminar.

During the first few days of the seminar in Fort Collins, participants are housed in a shared room with two beds in a hotel next to the university. After we leave Fort Collins, we will be exclusively camping along the seminar route in different types of protected area and private protected areas. It is important to note that you will be sharing a room and tent with another participant during the entire seminar.

Please note that because of the intensive schedule, participants have little free time during the seminar. Generally, our days start around 8:00 or 9:00am, and can go as late as 19:00 to 21:00. Please plan accordingly by not committing to completing outside work during the seminar as well as notifying loved ones that you will likely be able to contact them in the morning and evenings. Our Fort Collins hotel and some of the campgrounds have Wi-Fi internet access. However there will be nights where we will not have connectivity when staying within protected area campgrounds.  We will advise you ahead of time regarding which hotel will not have internet so that you can notify colleagues and loved ones.

Continental breakfast will be available at the Fort Collins hotel and our team will cook breakfast in camp during the protected area visits. In some cases, we will all eat lunch and dinner together and CSU will directly cover the costs of those meals. However, in other cases you will have the liberty to buy lunch and dinner on your own or with small groups of other seminar participants. The detailed seminar schedule which you will receive on arrival will identify those meals that you will eat on your own. At the beginning of the seminar each participant will receive a modest stipend to cover costs of those meals which you will be required to buy on your own.

Note: If you have any dietary restrictions, such as gluten-free, lactose-free, vegan or vegetarian, please let us know as soon as possible and we will do our best to accommodate your dietary needs.

Colorado State University does not manage or offer scholarships for the seminar. Fundraising to cover the cost of the course is the responsibility of individuals who want to attend the seminar and of their organizations. It is important to start fundraising to sources in your home countries and abroad at the time of applying.

In many countries, national foundations and environmental funds, government agencies, non-profit partners, international program funding, and others can be sources of support for program participants.  We understand that the program has a high cost, this is largely due to the number of site visits, ground transportation costs, and the cost of our team to organize all of the site visit with agency personnel during the visit.

Many donors require applicants to their grants to already have provisional acceptance before approving financial support. For that reason, in some cases, for highly qualified applicants who apply early to the seminar and are applying for funding from sources with firm scholarship application deadlines before our December deadline, we can provide a letter of provisional acceptance pending approval of funding, if your application materials meet acceptance requirements. Note this is no guarantee of final acceptance to the seminar, which depends of having full funding before the seminar fills (capacity is capped at 24).

The best method of payment is by electronic bank transfer. Payments must be in US dollars.

The wire transfer paperwork should form should indicate that the transfer is for “CSU Tourism Seminar, Attn: Ryan Finchum WCNR” and have your name noted as well so that funds are not lost in route. It is also important to send a copy of the bank wire receipt to [email protected].

When you or your institution are ready to make the payment, please email our center at [email protected]. to request an invoice with the necessary bank transfer information. We will email you all the details on how to make the payment via electronic bank transfer.

If for any reason it is not possible to make the payment via bank transfer, please contact our Center to discuss other alternatives. For individuals funded by certain financial institutions, these institutions typically handle payments directly to the university. Payment is also possible via credit and debit cards; if you prefer this option, please let us know so we can send you detailed instructions on how to make the payment, which must be done by phone during CSU business hours.

Tuition Payment is due by January 31, 2026 in order to reserve your space in the seminar. In case of cancellation requests before January 31, the amount paid minus US $250 will be refunded. For cancellations after January 31, we will work with you to provide a partial reimbursement.  Due to commitments to our service providers early in the planning process, cancellations can be difficult to process.

In case of cancellation requests before June 8, 2020, the amount paid minus US $250 will be refunded. For cancellations between June 10 and July 3, US $ 2,500 will be returned; the remaining US $3,195 is nonrefundable and will be used to cover commitments made by the institution, particularly for advanced hotel and other service provider payments. In case of cancellation after July 3rd, we cannot guarantee any refund.

In the past, participants have been able to attend our training events without issue when holding multiple-entry B1 or B2 visas, as long as the visas are in force for the duration of the seminar and through the day of departure.

If you already have a valid business or tourist visa to the USA, please let us know on your application form and send us a scanned copy (JPEG or PDF). If you have US citizenship or permanent or temporary residency, let us know as these visa requirements do not apply to you.

Some countries from Europe and Asia and Chile in Latin America have a simpler online process (the Visa Waiver Program) for obtaining entry papers to the United States. Please check online or via telephone with the US consulate in your country to see what the requirements are for nationals from your country. If you hold several passports, it might be cheaper and easier to enter the USA on a European visa, for example.

If you do not have a valid visa and are not from a country where the U.S. Visa Waiver Program is active, we can help you get a J-1 short term scholar visa. You will need to contact the Center to request for help. Once you request our help and payment of your course fee is received, CSU will fill out the initial paperwork to obtain a J-1 US visa which is for “short-term scholars.” This means that you will be visiting the USA to take a short course but not to get a degree. The paperwork that we need to complete is called a DS-2019 form which our university has to fill out, not you. Once that form is ready and certified by the university, we will send the DS-2019 to you by email. You must take on the responsibility for setting up the interview at the US consulate, but you should not do so until you have your DS-2019.

The criteria and costs for applying for a visa may vary from country to country, but in most cases the process costs US $185 for the interview with the consulate and another US $220 to register in the database of the SEVIS system of the US government (in the case of J-1 visas). An additional fee of $250 per visa is currently being discussed.  Please check with the US consulate in your country regarding the amount to pay and how and when to pay it.

Please note that depending on your country, the time required to get an appointment at the US consulate and to order a passport issued by your home country might take weeks or months. It is important not to procrastinate! In the past, people with funding who have been accepted conditionally to the seminar could not attend because they did not complete their visa and passport paperwork on time.

It is important to have a passport valid for at least six months after the date of your return home from the seminar; some countries and airlines require that passengers have 6 months of validity remaining in their passports to allow for entry or boarding, even if they have a valid visa to the USA. There is an exception to this rule for countries that are on the “6 Month Club” list. If your country is included on this list, you will simply need a valid passport for the duration of your intended stay.

Unless your donor specifically asks CSU to purchase your airfare, internal transportation in your country to the port of departure to the US and vice versa, as well as international air transport to and from the US, is the responsibility of the participant or their institutions and sponsors. Participants should work with their travel agent to plan to arrive and depart from Denver International Airport, Colorado (DEN). The seminar staff will contact the group of participants to get their arrival and departure information and to coordinate transportation between the Denver airport and Fort Collins. It is best to try to arrange flights in order to avoid reaching Denver very late in the evening on arrival since the seminar begins the following morning and Denver airport is located about 90 minutes from Fort Collins. Nor is it a good idea to schedule return flights to your countries very early on the departure day if possible; mid-morning departures would be best to allow you to get ample sleep the night before your long journey home.

It is very important to ensure that you do not arrive at the airport in the city of Colorado Springs, Colorado, which is much farther from Fort Collins than is Denver International Airport. The seminar cannot provide transportation between Fort Collins and Colorado Springs. Sometimes travel agents make this mistake!

The official language of the seminar is English. All materials, readings, lectures, discussions, field trips and other activities will be conducted in that language. You must be capable of understanding lectures in English and communicating with other seminar participants in English. You will have to make a brief presentation on your own work in English as well.

All participants receive a certificate of participation from Colorado State University stipulating the number of days and hours of instruction. This certificate is signed by all seminar instructors and bears the name of the Center for Protected Area Management and the Colorado State University logo.

We have a comfortable climate in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region of neighboring states that we will visit during late summer and early autumn. The temperature in September ranges between 30 and minus 5 degrees Celsius depending on the time of day, the elevation, and the presence of weather fronts that might occur. There is considerable variation between daytime and nighttime temperatures because of the altitude—often a 15 degrees Celsius change or more. There is lots of sun, but sometimes it rains in the afternoon. The entire time we will be above 1,500 meters, so the use of hats and sunblock is important even on cloudy days. With this type of climate, it is preferable to dress in layers that can be removed as needed. Generally, the region is arid and warmer on the plains, and cooler and wetter in the mountains. We might even see snow and will very likely experience overnight and morning temperatures just above freezing.  It will be important to have enough cold weather clothing for our nights camping out in the protected areas that we will visit.  We have a saying here: “If you do not like the weather in Colorado, wait 20 minutes and it will change.”

The tourism seminar requires that all participants have basic field gear for our site visits to ensure that the field trips are safe and enjoyable. While we will not be making visits to the backcountry, we will be going to field sites where good rain gear, warm sweaters, a jacket, hiking boots, hats, gloves, sunglasses, sunblock, flash light, and other basic field equipment will enable a safe and comfortable visit. Given the timing of the seminar, we will likely to experience both warm and cold weather. It is possible we will encounter some rain and perhaps even some snow at high altitudes. Having said that, the autumn weather in the Western U.S. is usually quite enjoyable, and with the changing color of leaves on the trees, the season can be spectacular. We must stress the importance of having appropriate field equipment to be comfortable and safe in these different climates. Dressing in layers is recommended as the weather can change quickly. Dress in the Western U.S. in general is informal. Men will not need ties or jackets. We do recommend that everyone bring one nice set of clothing for the closing ceremony and one or two dinners in more formal settings.

In addition to having appropriate clothing and equipment to be safe and comfortable during our field visits, each participant should bring their personal effects (clothes, toiletries, etc.) and the items listed below. After arriving in Fort Collins for the seminar, staff can help you choose the right equipment and clothing for both the seminar and that will be useful back home. We make a trip to stores in Fort Collins at the beginning of the seminar to help you achieve this. We also recommend you bring posters, brochures and other items that illustrate the protected area system in your country and tourism destinations and protected areas where you work to share with your colleagues in the seminar.

Personal equipment:

• Good hiking boots
• Canvas shoes (tennis) or sandals
• Raincoats (completely waterproof jacket and pants)
• Warm sweater
• Warm socks
• Gloves*
• Warm hat*
• 1 to 2 pairs of shorts
• Hat or cap for the sun
• Sunblock (best to buy in Colorado)
• Insect repellent (best to buy in Colorado)
• Small flashlight or headlamp with batteries
• Binoculars (optional but recommended, you can buy one in Fort Collins)
• Camera (optional but recommended, you can buy one in Fort Collins

Note: Items with a ‘*’ indicate equipment we have to lend out to participants. If you are unable to obtain these items before coming to the course, we will distribute marked items in the list at the beginning of the course.

If you lack any of the items listed above, we recommend that you buy them after arriving in Fort Collins —costs in the USA for most items will probably be lower than in your countries and it will mean fewer pieces of luggage for you to bring. Many airlines now charge for bags. You should make sure that your bags do not weigh more than 22 kilograms or 50 pounds or you will be charged extra by the airline. Please verify baggage restrictions with your airline. Note that after we leave Fort Collins, we will not be visiting any other large cities, so if you plan on purchasing laptops, binoculars, cameras, other electronics, etc., we recommend you do so while in Fort Collins. We have planned a specific evening for this shopping trip soon after you arrive. You will encounter souvenir shops in many of the parks and reserves we visit. Please note we are traveling in small vans. There will be no space for participants to bring along bulky purchases such as televisions, bicycles, or similar items. Your only chance to buy larger items to take back to your home will be at the end of the seminar immediately before returning home.

We will be providing all basic camping equipment including tents, sleeping pads, and sleeping bags.  That said, if you have a preferred sleeping bag of your own, please feel free to also bring that along.

We will always carry a first aid kit on our field trips that includes basic first aid equipment (bandages, thermometers, creams) along with simple over-the-counter medicines. However, it is difficult and often costly for individuals who are not U.S. citizens or residents to buy prescription medication in the U.S.A. In addition, it is not possible to purchase this medication without first having an appointment with a local doctor to obtain a prescription as the pharmacy will not accept foreign prescriptions. Please bring enough pills of any prescription medicine you use for the entire duration of your stay.

As part of the curriculum of the seminar, participants will have the opportunity to give a brief presentation on their work and about areas where they work using a standardized PowerPoint presentation guide which we will send you a few weeks before the start of the seminar.

Most participants find it is useful to bring along a laptop computer, tablet, or at least a smartphone. Computers are not needed for the program and most people find it easiest to just bring a smartphone.  You may also buy one of these items in Fort Collins. Please note that electricity in the US is 110 volts and plugs may differ from those used in your countries. Please consult this page for additional information on the types of outlets used in the US. In this case, you must purchase an adapter to plug in any electronic device.

Cell phones from some other countries do not work in the USA (or they might cost a lot per minute for calls and messages). At times, there will be no signal from some cell phone providers while the seminar is in the field. Make sure you know the policies and costs of using your phone from your home country in the USA!  Another option is to buy a cheap phone in the US (which may not work back in your country) for which you can buy pre-paid cards to make calls to your country at reasonable cost. If you do not bring or purchase a working phone, Skype and WhatsApp are the best free alternatives to communicate with your loved ones and work via the Internet.  Skype is free if calling computer to computer and costs pennies each minute for calls to cell phones and land lines, even in other countries. You can register for an account and if you want, purchase minutes in blocks of $10 of call time on the website www.skype.com.  For more information about WhatsApp, please visit www.whatsapp.com.

DO NOT use the phones in your hotel rooms to make direct long-distance calls!  If you do so, you may be stuck with a bill for hundreds of dollars which you will be responsible to pay! One way to communicate by phone would be through pre-paid cards for international calls or long distance, which you can buy in shops that will be easily found throughout the seminar.

Regardless of how you communicate, we will ask you to refrain from doing email, making calls, or using handheld devices during class sessions out of respect for instructors and your fellow participants.

We believe that professionals involved in all aspects of managing protected areas and tourism programs in parks and reserves should have direct knowledge of the realities in the field and conditions faced by staff and the visiting public. Therefore, almost 75% of the seminar is spent in the field visiting different units of the US National Park System, along with other federal, state, local, and private parks and reserves and ecotourism destinations in surrounding buffer zones and gateway communities. Very limited time is spent in classrooms. With that said, we usually stay in the main visitor areas of the protected areas and only plan 2 – 3 long hikes of up to 10 km (however not extreme in elevation gain) where we provide the opportunity for the group to visit the protected area’s “back-country.”

The seminar takes place between 1700 and 4000 meters above sea level. There will be a period of a few days after arriving in Fort Collins to get accustomed to the elevation before going to higher destinations.

Participants who smoke should note that smoking, including with electronic cigarettes, is highly regulated in the USA and is not tolerated in hotel rooms, bars, restaurants, vehicles, classrooms, or even in many places outdoors such as restaurant patios. Possessing open containers of alcohol in motor vehicles, even by passengers, is also prohibited. Smoking and drinking at high altitude can often lead to respiratory distress or terrible hangovers.

This seminar is mobile, meaning that we are on the move throughout the entire course and never in one place more than a few nights. This makes it difficult to find time to wash clothes. We will provide the participants with more information about opportunities to wash clothes upon your arrival in Fort Collins. That said, we suggest you bring enough clothes for at least 7-10 days, in case you are only able to wash clothes 1 time during the seminar.

The seminar will include participants from government agencies, tourism businesses, universities, community organizations, and NGOs with varying levels of responsibility and academic and professional experience. In the past, we have had participants ranging from park rangers to regional and central office staff of tourism and conservation agencies, as well as academics, NGO representatives, and individuals who work for tourism businesses. You can expect to be one of 18-24 participants, from 10 or more countries from around the world. Most participants will be speaking English as a second language. Participants in past seminars have come from Asia, North, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa, New Zealand, the USA, and Europe. We try to have about the same number of men and women on the seminar.

We ask that each participant come prepared to give a short presentation about his or her work.  In the month before the seminar starts, seminar staff will send you a PowerPoint outline to facilitate the development of your presentation. During the seminar, each van will have a small library with information on the natural and cultural history of the sites we are visiting. The intensity of the workload is such that there will be limited time available for reading other than in the vans.

During the seminar, there will be opportunities for you to share and discuss the programs, projects, and problems related to the management of tourism in the protected areas where you work. Therefore, feel free to bring audiovisual materials (digital photos, slides, videos, films, maps, etc.), as well as basic information (publications and reports). If you have copies of any management plans or tourism and public use strategies for the areas where you work, we ask that you bring a copy of each to share during the seminar and, if possible, leave them as examples for our library.

The airport security in the U.S. is very strict and the rules constantly evolve due to unfortunate events of recent years. Regulations on what is allowed and prohibited change frequently. However, some common rules about items that you carry on the plane with you are the following. Please note that this list is relevant for carry-on security procedures only and does not apply to checked luggage:

• You cannot bring liquids that are more than 85.05 grams (3 ounces) on the plane with you. If you bring liquids that are smaller than this size, they must be stored in a small re-sealable plastic bag and taken out of your carry-on luggage when going through security. It is advisable to put all liquids (shampoo, etc.) in checked baggage and not in your hand (carry-on) luggage.
• It is best to avoid wearing metal items while traveling and simply pack all metal things in checked baggage. The airport security does not allow any type of knife, scissors or any short, pointed items or potentially explosive canisters; these items will be confiscated be airport security if found in carry-on luggage.
• If you bring a computer, you will usually be required to take it out of its case and place it in a tray while going through security. (It is a better idea to carry your computer with you than to pack it in checked luggage.)
• Most airports require you to remove your shoes, hat, belt, watches or metal jewelry and any overcoat as you go through security, putting them in a tray with anything else you bring with you as carry-on luggage.
• It is always best to travel in the US with extra patience as the travel screening process can be slow and frustrating.

Be sure you check with your airline ahead of time about the costs for both carry-on and checked bags; increasingly, airlines are charging for checked bags and even for carry-on bags. Weigh your bags at home before leaving for the airport, and try to keep them below 22 kg or 50 lbs. to avoid paying for overweight fees. Make sure you have enough cash or credit cards on hand to pay for any baggage fees. Also, since we will be on the road constantly we recommend you try to pack as light as possible and avoid large and bulky bags.

Someone from the course will pick you up at the Denver airport when you arrive, if you arrive on the indicated arrival date. The Denver airport is quite large. You will arrive at Concourse A, B, or C, depending on the airline. After exiting your plane and entering the airport, you should start looking for signs indicating how to get to the baggage claim area. Follow the signs that say “Terminal” or “Baggage Claim”. You must take the airport train to get to baggage claim from Concourse B and C though you can walk from Concourse A to the baggage claim area if you do not want to take the train. To find the train, you must go down automatic stairs (the escalator), to find the train. For a map of the airport, please click here.

Take the free train to arrive at the terminal and baggage claim area. The claim area is quite large with two sections – the West Side and the East Side. On each side, there are screens marked “arrivals” that indicate which carousel your checked luggage will be arriving on. Another option that works well is to ask the crew personnel before leaving the plane in Denver the number of the flight’s baggage claim carousel. They flight staff might also announce what carousel your bags will be on before you deplane.

If, for any reason, you miss a flight or experience major delays in route, please contact seminar staff by WhatsApp as soon as possible so that we are aware of the situation. We will work to schedule you on a later pick-up shuttle by our staff. We will be providing you our staff’s names and contact information before you travel to the USA, including the name of the person that will pick you up, a photo, and the names of other participants coming in to Denver in the same pickup group as you. Look for someone carrying a sign saying Colorado State University.

If you arrive before the indicated arrival date, or in the case that you do not find CSU staff in the Denver airport, do not take a taxi to Fort Collins. Taxis are extremely expensive due to the fact that the university is about 100 km from the airport. The suggested alternative is to take a shuttle bus from the airport. The name of the shuttle bus company is Groome Transportation.

Groome Transportation (https://groometransportation.com/fort-collins/)

More details will be provided in the weeks prior to the start of the program.

You may come early or stay additional time in the USA after the seminar for personal travel if it is within the terms of your US visa. The seminar does not cover extra expenses or guarantee accommodations or transportation in these cases.

Because of the mobile nature of the seminar and limited seating you are not allowed to bring any friends or family members with you during the seminar. However, there have been cases where family or friends of participants have come to Fort Collins at the end of the seminar to join participants on personal trips with these friends or relatives.

If you have any more questions, feel free to contact our center at: [email protected].