Executives at several Colorado mountain destinations are projecting brisk drive-in business from tourists this summer despite already-high gas prices.
Tourism offices in Aspen, Grand Junction and Durango – all of which have offered gas vouchers of up to $90 per visit over the past two summers – said they’re not planning similar programs this year because summer bookings are strong.
“We’ve found that $3 gas didn’t limit travel as expected,” said John Cohen, executive director of the Durango Tourism Office, which recorded a 13 percent increase in visitors last year. “Our biggest market is the leisure-drive market and people are still driving.”
Gas prices rose an additional 2 cents Wednesday, to a statewide average of $2.98 per gallon of regular unleaded, according to AAA Colorado. That’s up 15 cents over last year. Prices at many stations have already popped past the $3 mark.
But hotel bookings in the Aspen area are pacing 13 percent ahead of where they were last year, according to Stay Aspen/Snowmass, the largest lodging reservation agency in the Roaring Fork Valley.
“That (gas) promo was mainly targeted at Front Range visitors,” president Bill Tomcich said. “And the reality is that, even with higher gas prices, the cost to get here and back is still pretty nominal. We just haven’t seen any effect from it.”
Other tourist destinations are still using free gas to lure customers.
The Tivoli Lodge in Vail is advertising a $25 “gas credit” to guests who stay at the hotel Sunday through Thursday nights through September.
Bullwhackers Casino in Black Hawk, which bought a local gas station last summer, is offering members of its “Five Star Players Club” the chance to earn gas vouchers by gambling there.
“It’s a differentiating amenity for us,” casino general manager Amy McHale said. “No other casino in Black Hawk or Central City can make this offer.”
In a survey released Wednesday by the Civil Society Institute and its 40mpg.org project, 72 percent of Americans said they expect gas prices to reach $3.50 a gallon this summer, and 28 percent believe prices will top $4.
Prices at the pump are already well over $3 per gallon in many Colorado mountain towns. On Wednesday, a tank of regular gas was going for $3.69 in Aspen and $3.32 in Estes Park, according to Coloradogasprices.com.
But AAA Colorado, which plans to release its annual summer travel forecast later this month, said it has seen “no early indicators” that the current gas price hike will have a major impact on travel in Colorado this summer.
“While it may be frustrating for travelers to see that prices are already up over last year, it’s unclear if these prices will last over the long-term,” spokesman Eric Escudero said.
Many tourism leaders said they also expect a boost from the $6.9 million national advertising and marketing campaign that the Colorado Tourism Office has been running since early March.
MMG Worldwide, which won the account last fall, has set the goal of expanding Colorado’s tourism market to 30 million visitors annually by 2008. That’s up from the record 25.9 million overnight visitors in 2005.
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-954-1592 or jdunn@denverpost.com.
