Economic Factors Look Good For Mountain Tourism That's Already On Record Pace
DENVER (CBS4) - The tourism industry in Colorado's high country continues its record pace, according to a group of Denver-based economists.
"The biggest thing is a very positive booking trend over the last several years driven by a good economy and positive snow; the two pistons in the engine." said Ralf Garrison, Director of DistiMetrics.
With skier visits up 4 percent in Colorado so far this winter, other economic factors are looking even better.
"Overall, business is up in both occupancy -- up about 7 percent over last year at this time … and rate -- the total revenues -- up about 14 percent," Garrison said.
That means more tourists are coming and they're paying more. While those numbers are for the entire western U.S., many say Colorado and the Rocky Mountains are carrying the load.
"The second part of the season has been impacted by warm and dry weather in the Rockies and the far west," Garrison said. "As a result the pace of booking has dropped off about 11 percent compared to last year at this time."
But this year is still on a record pace.
"Business has been growing since we've came out of the recession, now three years in a row, both winter and summer."
Garrison says he can't project out more than a few months, but something significant would have to happen for the upward trend to reverse.
"A little blip in the market place can make consumers nervous and they tend to stay at home," he said. "But so far the economic recovery has been very consistent and reliable and consumers are feeling good about spending extra money in the mountain resort communities."
And that's good news for all of Colorado.
