arlier this year, when COVID-19 brought travel, businesses, and most social interactions to a standstill, many consumers’ summer vacations were put on hold. For Colorado’s tourism industry and many of the communities that depend on tourists, this was a devastating blow. LIV Sotheby’s International Realty virtually sat down with Cathy Ritter, the Director of Colorado Tourism Office, to talk about how the pandemic has impacted Colorado’s attractions and what the future will hold for travel in the state.
While Colorado is widely known for its world-class ski resorts, summer is actually the state’s busiest season for tourism. In fact, 60% of Colorado’s visitors come during the warmer summer months. It makes sense if you consider that Colorado has four national parks, 58 mountain peaks exceeding 14,000 feet in elevation (affectionately called “14ers” by locals), and more than 105,300 miles of rivers to explore. Not to mention countless historical points of interest that helped shape our country as it is today. This summer, however, these sites and their communities will most likely not see the volume of tourists they are used to.
According to data provided by the Colorado Tourism Office, in April, tourism revenue was down by a staggering 89% compared to year-to-date levels in 2019. Although Colorado is performing slightly better than other tourism-driven states (such as Hawaii, which has seen a 96% decrease in tourism dollars), the effects of COVID-19 are making a huge impact. Cathy noted, “Direct travel spending contributes about $1.37 billion to our state and local tax revenues annually.”
However, there is a silver lining. “Many people still have a deep desire to travel and will do so at the earliest opportunity,” said Cathy. And she’s right. With restrictions slowly but surely being lifted, committed consumers will soon find ways to explore away from home. And luckily, Colorado is a great place to ease back into travel.
“In Colorado, we are in an especially favorable position for people to travel in the ‘new normal’,” explained Cathy. “So many of our attractions are naturally socially distant, such as hiking, camping, and fishing.”
While many of the activities that draw tourists to Colorado are ideal for social distancing, additional health and safety precautions need to be taken by tourism businesses in order to attract the crowds and increase attendance again.
“If we are to entice travelers to come to Colorado, we must create the conditions that make them feel safe,” said Cathy. “We need to deal with this head-on and in a meaningful way.” Cathy went on to say that Colorado is taking guidance from health officials and is already implementing a recovery plan to bring more tourism back to the state safely. “We are being very thoughtful in how we progress but there is a strong determination to do whatever we can to increase tourism again.”
In addition to ensuring that social distancing is enforced, and that sanitation processes are transparent to visitors, the Colorado Tourism team is developing incentives to encourage consumers to try new experiences. These special offers will not be discounts but rather opportunities to explore aspects of Colorado that visitors maybe hadn’t previously considered.
The method of travel is also important to keep in mind. Cathy stated that the popularity of car travel is on the rise, saying, “Right now, people believe that traveling in their personal vehicles is the safest option.” More than 35% of travelers are willing to drive 13 hours or more on their next road trip, which is an increase from previous years. In order to capitalize on the latest travel trend, Colorado Tourism has created more than 200 itineraries for day trips to encourage people to take road trips and visit Colorado’s 26 scenic and historic byways. These travel ideas and other technology tools are available on Colorado Tourism’s website, Colorado.com.
These offerings will initially be aimed at Coloradans. “With such a large portion of the population being transplants from other states, it makes sense to invite these people to explore their own state.” In later phases of this marketing strategy, tourists in other states, and eventually other countries, will be targeted as well.
This summer will certainly be different for tourism industries not only in Colorado, but across the globe. But with the proper precautions and a whole lot of optimism, the industry and Colorado’s communities will persevere and come out stronger.
“It’s a summer of challenges but Colorado is seeing a resurgence in travel. We have to be very nimble to help our tourism businesses adapt to the new realities and accommodate consumers to make the most of new opportunities,” reassured Cathy Ritter.
CATHY RITTER
