Colorado tourism has regained its momentum after a detour 15 years ago knocked it off track. A renewed effort to advertise the state with funds committed for that purpose has helped propel the state’s tourism industry back to its pre-detour levels.
For the first time, the number of visitors to Colorado has surpassed a 1992 record set shortly before state funding for advertising was slashed. Since funding was restored in 2000, efforts by the Colorado Tourism Office have slowly gained ground, and the office has come close to or exceeded many of its goals in the past three years.
“I was excited to see we surpassed (the) ’92 numbers,” Kim McNulty, director of the Colorado Tourism Office, said of the 2007 data, released last week. “It validates the way we market the state.”
Though tourism funding was restarted in 2000, it has taken the state nearly eight years to regain the market share that was lost — both in number of trips and in tourism dollars spent in the state.
The 2007 data show tourism was up 4 percent and tourism spending was up 10 percent to $9.8 billion from 2006. This marks the fourth consecutive year tourism has grown in the state.
Colorado was 17th in overall market share and first in share of overnight ski trips. The state had dropped to 23rd in overall ranking in 2004. The annual studies reporting these statistics have been conducted by Longwoods International.
Overall overnight trips totaled 28 million for 2007, and the state’s national travel market share rose to 2.5 percent from 2.35 percent in 2006.
The organization has surpassed or nearly met all of its goals for the past several years based on a review by The Denver Post.
In 2005 the CTO board set a goal for fiscal year 2006 of finding a permanent funding source for tourism promotion. That year the state legislature passed House Bill 1201, which provides $19 million annually.
In 2006 the board set a goal of increasing the number of Web sessions on to 5.6 million sessions. They exceeded that goal with 6.5 million Web sessions in 2007.
Last year the board set a goal of increasing market share to 2.45 percent and surpassed it when the 2007 numbers showed a 2.5 percent market share. The board also wanted to see overnight trips increase to 28.2 million in 2007 but fell slightly short with 28 million in overnight trips, still an all-time high for the state.
In 2007 marketable leisure trips hit 13.5 million, the biggest rise in these types of trips since 1992. That year marketable leisure trips topped out at 12.5 million before dropping to an all-time low of 9.6 million in 2000.
State had lost $2 billion
Renewed funding for the state’s tourism efforts was won in 2000 after a Longwoods study showed the state had lost $2 billion in tourism dollars in 1997 and experienced a 30 percent decrease in market share between 1993 and 1997.
“The governor and legislators recognized how important the tourism industry is to the state and decided to fund a statewide promotional campaign,” McNulty said.
“There is a correlation between national advertising and how much tourism you get,” said Michael Erdman, of Longwoods. “Twenty to 25 percent of all tourism can be explained by the shift in the advertising budget.”
At The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, the share of visitors from Texas, California and Illinois has nearly doubled in the past five years, said Story Kirshman, marketing manager at the luxury hotel.
“We’ve always been a strong draw for Texas, but with the increase in advertising through the CTO and our own advertising in that market, it’s definitely grown,” she said. “Texas represents 10 percent of our guests.”
From the early 1980s until the 1990s Colorado spent a portion of hotel, transportation and meal taxes on tourism marketing. During that time there was continuous growth in the state’s share of U.S. tourism.
In 1992 with the passage of Tabor, funding virtually went away. In addition, controversy surrounding Amendment 2 the following year caused the state to lose 31 conventions, leading tourism to plummet even further.
Within two years of those landmark events, Colorado had lost 38 percent of its U.S. tourism market share.
After seven years with no tourism funding, the CTO was created in 2000 with $5 million from then-Gov. Bill Owens. In 2003, Owens approved $9 million for tourism promotion.
And in 2006 the state legislature approved $19 million in permanent funding for the CTO, putting Colorado in the top 10 states for promotional marketing budgets.
Colorado.com a huge hit
According to Longwoods, 25 percent of state tourism is driven by state advertising. A record one in five visitors to Colorado in 2007 said they checked out the website while planning or before visiting the state.
The CTO oversees , the state vacation guide, the welcome centers and marketing and advertising campaigns for the state. The money also funds administrative costs and salaries for six staff members.
At Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, motor coaches from across America continue to stop in, bringing 50 tourists at a time to the grounds, said Bonnie Frum, director of operations at Garden of the Gods.
The number of visitors to Garden of the Gods is holding steady this year, which Frum is grateful for considering gas prices. Last year 580,000 people visited the park.
The state ranks in the top five as a destination people want to visit.
The CTO’s increased funding two years ago thrilled Frum, and she sees it manifested every time a new motor-coach company shows up in her parking lot.
“To think with gas prices the way they are, we are still doing the numbers we are, we have to give credit to the CTO for what they are doing,” Frum said.
Currently the CTO is waiting on an Advertising Effectiveness Study for the 2007 campaign. The last such study was done in 2004 and reported successful results for that campaign.
Sean Glackin, who runs a kayaking school in Edwards, doesn’t need to wait for the report to be released to know the CTO is doing its job.
“We’ve definitely seen a steady increase over the years as far as kayak lessons and kayak sales are concerned,” said Glackin, owner of Alpine Kayak School and Alpine Quest Sports.
Glackin’s fleet of kayaks has grown to nearly 60 from 30 just five years ago, and the team of instructors has doubled in that time from three to six, he said.
“The more times they hit somebody’s senses with Colorado and get it in their head and get them thinking about it,” Glackin said, “the more it may get them out on the river with us.”
Elizabeth Aguilera: 303-954-1372 or eaguilera@denverpost.com
By the numbers
4 percent
Increase in Colorado tourism from 2006 to 2007
10 percent
Increase in tourism spending from 2006 to 2007
17th
Where Colorado stands in overall market share
1st
Where Colorado stands in its share of overnight ski trips
28 million
Number of overnight trips to Colorado in 2007
