Tourists continued to funnel billions of dollars into the Colorado’s economy last year, but new data released Tuesday shows a mixed bag for tourism’s impact in 2024 and the first half of 2025.
Tourism contributed $28.5 billion to the state’s economy and supported 188,510 jobs across the state in 2024, both of which are relatively flat compared to 2023, according to numbers released by the Colorado Tourism Office.
While the annual research from Dean Runyan Associates and Longwoods International Travel USA shows tourism is still a big economic driver, “…indicators suggest that increasing competition and uncertainty related to federal policy changes are putting pressure on Colorado’s thriving tourism industry,” state officials said in a news release.
There was a 2% increase in tourists last year, from 93.3 million people in 2023 to 95.4 million in 2024. Most of those were people visiting for a day trip, according to the release.
Other tourist spending increased by a fraction of a percent in Colorado despite being up 4% nationally.
Hotel occupancy was down 2% as of June and the number of people staying in short-term rentals dropped by 10% in the first quarter of the year, state tourism officials said.
“We are committed to bringing forward innovative ways to mitigate these changes while continuing to inspire the world to explore Colorado responsibly and respectfully,” Colorado Tourism Office Director Timothy Wolfe said in a statement.
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