Colorado Mountain Towns Of Us Face Challenges As International Tourist Numbers Continue To Fall

Monday, August 4, 2025

After years of unprecedented maturation successful visitant numbers and record-breaking tourism revenues, nan Western Slope of Colorado is opening to spot a important diminution successful nan region’s tourism sector. Following an exceptional maturation period, nan authorities is now facing a contraction successful postulation and spending—this is nan first driblet since nan pandemic. These changes are causing nan state’s tourism authorities to worry, particularly fixed nan imaginable consequences successful section economies successful nan upland towns and skis resorts.

As early arsenic past year, tourism officials of Colorado predicted a marketplace softening. While Colorado welcomed a grounds 95.4 cardinal visitors successful 2024, spending an estimated $28.4 billion, location was a discernible alteration successful spending patterns. The numbers indicated that maturation was predominantly driven by short, single-day trips originating from nan Front Range. This marks a displacement successful nan recreation patterns passim nan state, astir notably successful nan Western Slope region, which has relied connected nan tourism manufacture to prolong nan system for decades.

Declining Visitor Numbers and Spending

As of mid-2025, nan state’s tourism system is emotion nan effects of a plateau. Hotel occupancy rates person decreased by 2% done June, signalling a displacement successful lodging demand. Revenue from edifice bookings has besides dropped, alongside a noticeable 10% year-on-year alteration successful short-term rental bookings during nan first 4th of 2025. Ski play visitors, while still a captious portion of Colorado’s economy, saw a diminution successful numbers, reaching 13.8 million—lower than nan 3 erstwhile seasons. This alteration contrasts pinch nan past decade’s accordant maturation successful skis tourism.

In position of world visitors, nan diminution is moreover much pronounced. Colorado’s world tourism marketplace stock has been slipping steadily since 2019. Combined pinch a crisp simplification successful world travellers, peculiarly from Canada, Europe, and Australia, nan state’s tourism infrastructure is nether strain. These changes person raised alarms for nan tourism-dependent communities that trust heavy connected world visitors, particularly for wintertime tourism.

The International Visitor Decline and Its Consequences

International visitors typically enactment longer and walk acold much than home travellers. This makes their absence much impactful for section economies, peculiarly successful upland towns that dangle connected their high-spending habits. For example, world visitors are known to walk up to 5 times much per time than home tourists, creating a important spread successful gross erstwhile they take to sojourn different destinations. The noticeable diminution successful world bookings has been attributed to respective factors, including nan effects of past U.S. policies, tariff concerns, and ongoing governmental uncertainty, which person made American destinations little appealing.

The tourism scenery is besides being reshaped by home travellers, but their spending behaviour differs drastically. While day-trippers from adjacent regions lend to nan accrued wide visitant numbers, they mostly walk overmuch less—about $105 per time compared to nan $594 spent by overnight visitors. The inclination of declining world visitors is becoming much evident arsenic nan tourism community, particularly successful celebrated upland resorts for illustration Aspen and Snowmass, continues to definitive concerns astir nan semipermanent viability of their visitant base.

Impact connected Mountain Towns and Ski Resorts

Mountain towns, peculiarly those on Colorado’s Western Slope, person seen a dip successful taxable income during nan 2024-2025 skis season. However, contempt this downturn, these towns person still managed to outperform nan pre-pandemic years. Sales dipped by conscionable $2 cardinal from nan 2023-2024 season, yet this fig still represents a important 48% summation compared to nan 2018-2019 skis season. Nonetheless, nan consistency of this inclination remains uncertain, arsenic concerns complete world visitant numbers grow.

A awesome rumor driving this slowdown is nan increasing aversion among Canadian travellers. Bookings from Canadian visitors are down 58%, while European and Australian bookings are besides connected nan decline. The U.S. government’s past waste and acquisition policies and governmental rhetoric person created a consciousness of unease among galore world travellers, who now for illustration different destinations. As Canadian travellers were erstwhile nan largest world group visiting Colorado, their reduced beingness is felt strongly.

Strategies to Combat nan Decline

In consequence to these challenges, section businesses and lodging owners are expanding room rates by astir 4% compared to 2024 successful an effort to offset declining numbers. However, this strategy presents its ain risks. Price hikes could value retired budget-conscious travellers, peculiarly those who would traditionally enactment successful much affordable lodgings, exacerbating nan problem further.

The short-term rental marketplace is besides facing unit owed to stricter regulations imposed by section governments. These measures purpose to reside nan lodging shortage successful edifice towns caused by an oversaturation of picnic rentals. While these regulations are intended to protect section workers and forestall lodging value inflation, they person besides led to higher costs for renters. This has triggered a noticeable dip successful nan number of budget-conscious travellers booking stays successful Colorado.

The Economic Ripple Effect: Employment and Tax Revenue

Despite nan driblet successful visitant numbers, nan economical effect of tourism remains significant. In 2024, tourism-dependent employment successful Colorado grew by 3,720 positions, reaching a full of 188,210 jobs. These jobs correspond an basal portion of nan state’s workforce, and galore agrarian areas trust connected tourism arsenic a cardinal economical driver. Additionally, authorities taxation gross from tourism reached $1.9 cardinal successful 2024, an summation of 1.3% complete 2023 figures.

However, this boost successful gross whitethorn beryllium tempered successful nan coming years arsenic communities acquisition a slowdown successful spending. Communities for illustration Silverthorne, wherever tourism spending and taxation gross are down, person begun to standard backmost planned spending. Local leaders successful these areas are now rethinking their attack to tourism, considering nan semipermanent effects of this diminution connected section economies.

Adjusting to Changing Trends

With nan changeless changes successful Colorado’s tourism sector, it has go basal for businesses to reevaluate their plans. Specifically, nan upland towns are moving to displacement their attraction from nan sheer number to nan value of services provided. This is portion of a wider inclination successful nan industry. The trading of tourism is aimed astatine attracting long-staying precocious spenders, moving distant from expanding nan number of visitors.

With nan betterment of world visitors still debased and nan home trends being unpredictable, it is basal to travel up pinch a balanced tourism model. Mountain officials, connected nan different hand, are focused connected coming up pinch a exemplary successful which nan residents and nan visitors are capable to thrive.

Image Credit: Colorado Tourism Official Website