Outdoor recreation groups hope handing out poop-disposal kits will cut down on the problem piling up on Colorado’s public lands
Colorado Tourism Office
Posted inBusiness
Colorado Tourism Office distributing record-setting $1.8M in grants to Front Range, Eastern Plains
The federal stimulus and recovery funding will go toward five urban visitors bureaus and two rural communities to help regain tourist traffic lost in the pandemic
Posted inBusiness, News
Colorado tourism businesses rebound in 2021, but recovery is uneven between mountains, Front Range
The Colorado tourism industry is bouncing back from the pandemic, but the recovery is not evenly distributed across the state. Front Range urban destinations have yet to see traffic return to 2019 levels while Western Slope mountain communities are setting all-time records. The Colorado Tourism Office’s survey of 2021 visitors by research groups Longwoods International […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Outdoors, Outsider
Colorado mountain towns can now use tourism tax revenue to deal with visitor hordes, housing shortage
Voters in mountain towns could soon redirect lodging taxes traditionally collected to lure visitors toward housing and recreational infrastructure. Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 1117, the bipartisan legislation allowing that option, into law Thursday in Edwards. Since 2002, voters in 29 Colorado counties have approved a lodging tax for tourism marketing. The new legislation […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, Energy, Environment, News, Outdoors
Coal is fading in northwest Colorado. The region is betting its economic future on another natural resource.
DINOSAUR NATIONAL MONUMENT — The 10 rafts are secured to the banks of the Green River. The tents are up. The sun is setting over the sandstone canyon walls. As 30 rafters dig into steaming bowls of chili, it’s time to start planning for the future. How can northwest Colorado entice and manage visitors, protect […]
Posted inNews
Colorado tourism suffered a $9 billion loss in 2020. Lodging properties were hardest hit.
The coronavirus pandemic cost Colorado’s tourism industry nearly $9 billion in 2020. The latest figures from the Colorado Tourism Office show travel spending dropping to $15.4 billion in 2020, down from a record $24.2 billion in 2019. That’s the lowest tally of visitor spending since the depth of the recession in 2011. Things were looking […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, News, Politics and Government
Colorado Tourism Office’s new director will stay the course on sustainability, mitigating visitor impacts
Colorado hospitality veteran Timothy Wolfe is taking the reins at the Colorado Tourism Office just as the state’s tourism industry lurches and limps out of a pandemic decline. “Economic recovery for our industry is essential,” said Wolfe, pointing to the Colorado Tourism Office’s two-phase, $3 million Roadmap to Recovery to reignite the state’s tourism economy. […]
Posted inBusiness, Housing, News, Newsletters, Outsider
Colorado mountain towns say they can’t handle any more tourists amid labor, housing crises
Crested Butte has pulled its summer ads as businesses struggle to accommodate crowds. A Telluride councilwoman wants to redirect tourism funding toward housing. The Colorado Tourism Office is without a leader. Chaffee County commissioners rejected a 20,000-person annual music festival. Angst over tourism is growing as mountain communities emerge from crowd-restricting pandemic closures. Overlapping waves […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government
Colorado Tourism Office boss suddenly shown the door to dismay of officials across the state
On his first day as the boss at Colorado’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade, Pat Meyers dismissed Cathy Ritter, the well-regarded director of the Colorado Tourism Office. “Cathy Ritter has concluded her service with the Colorado Tourism Office. We thank her for contributions to the state and we wish her the best of […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government
Colorado’s tourism marketing budget revived as lawmakers bet travelers will be crucial to coronavirus recovery
The Joint Budget Committee on Friday finalized a plan to give the Colorado Tourism Office $10 million, reversing an initial plan to defund tourism promotion as lawmakers slash more than $3 billion from the state’s COVID-19-ravaged budget. The tourism industry rallied last week after committee staff recommended eliminating 87% of the state’s tourism budget. The […]