Governor Jared Polis hailed a state that drew 96.8 million visitors in 2025, though officials cautioned that stiffer competition, federal policy uncertainty and poor snowfall are slowing growth — with some mountain towns seeing seasonal trade drop by as much as 40 per cent
Tourism pumped a record $29.2 billion into Colorado’s economy in 2025, according to research released on Tuesday by the Colorado Tourism Office and Governor Jared Polis’ office. The figure represents a 2 per cent rise on the $28.5 billion recorded in 2024, with visitor numbers climbing 1.4 per cent to 96.8 million, according to Longwoods International’s Travel USA study. Officials said the industry directly supported 187,860 jobs dedicated to serving visitors and generated $1.91 billion in state and local tax revenue — up 1.9 per cent on the previous year — even as they warned that growth is slowing.
Polis celebrated the milestone, declaring that “Colorado is the best place to live, work, play and visit” and saying it was “no surprise Colorado was a destination for almost 100 million people last year”, pointing to the state’s outdoor recreation, landscapes, cities and towns. The research was published by his office alongside the Colorado Tourism Office, a division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.
Behind the headline figure
The studies, carried out by Longwoods International and Dean Runyan Associates, suggest the record is more than an inflation story. Once rising prices are stripped out, real growth in visitor spending came in at roughly 1.7 per cent, indicating travellers actually bought more goods and services rather than simply paying more for the same ones. Every $1 million in travel-related spending supported six industry jobs in 2025, while the Dean Runyan analysis found visitor spending generated an estimated $1.6 billion in direct earnings for workers across accommodation, food service, recreation, retail and transport.
The picture of who visits, and how, is also detailed in the research. Colorado’s top travel markets were Colorado itself, California, Texas, New York and Florida, and overnight visitors stayed an average of 3.3 nights, favouring outdoor and entertainment activities ahead of cultural and sporting pursuits. Notably, 22 per cent of travel parties included somebody requiring accessibility services, well above the US norm of 17 per cent.
Denver dominates as local records tumble
Denver and its surrounding metropolitan area remained the engine of the state’s travel economy, accounting for about $14.2 billion — nearly half of all travel spending in Colorado at 48.5 per cent. The city itself set new records in 2025, welcoming 37.6 million domestic visitors who spent $10.5 billion, split between roughly 20.1 million overnight guests and 17.6 million day trippers, with both visitation and spending reaching all-time highs.
Visit Denver credited part of that success to its own promotion, estimating that its spring and summer marketing campaign alone generated 3.6 million additional trips, $1.6 billion in incremental visitor spending and $180 million in extra state and local tax revenue. Further south, the Pikes Peak region also reported record tourism despite a difficult year, with Visit Colorado Springs saying the area welcomed 25.6 million visitors who spent $3.1 billion, and officials pointing to resilience in the face of higher costs, political uncertainty and reduced international travel.
Warning signs beneath the record
For all the celebratory numbers, the governor’s office flagged indicators from last year and early this year suggesting the industry’s growth is cooling, blaming a combination of increased competition, uncertainty linked to federal policy changes and weather-related difficulties. The research notes rivalry from states such as California, whose growth in tourism spending fell short of Colorado’s, yet the state’s longer-term position has weakened: officials have previously reported that Colorado’s share of the US domestic travel market has slipped from 2.1 per cent in 2019 to 1.8 per cent.
The weather has taken its own toll. Lower-than-average snowfall and the proximity of wildfires affected visitation, with some mountain communities suffering seasonal declines of up to 40 per cent. International travel, meanwhile, remains a small but prized segment — Longwoods International found overseas visitors stayed longer and spent significantly more per trip than their domestic counterparts, keeping them a priority for the state’s tourism marketers despite recent headwinds.
Timothy Wolfe, director of the Colorado Tourism Office, acknowledged the mixed outlook, saying the industry “continues to be a powerful economic driver” but that “destinations across Colorado are experiencing different challenges”. He said the office remained committed to working with partners to help communities adapt while continuing to encourage visitors to explore the state responsibly and respectfully.
