The city of Denver has broken its own record, earning $5.3 billion in tourism revenue in 2016. Based on the Longwoods International annual visitor profile study, Denver welcomed 31.5 million visitors (including 17.3 million overnight visitors) and is rising as a top tourism destination.
“This is a milestone year marking the first time Denver surpassed 30 million total visitors and the 11th consecutive year that we have generated record tourism numbers,” says Richard Scharf, president & CEO of Visit Denver. “Since voters approved an increase of tourism marketing dollars in 2005, Denver has seen tourism grow nearly three times the pace of the national average, 62 percent for Denver, compared to 22 percent nationally.”
Denver takes pride in its tourism initiatives and generates a significant amount of revenue from the tourism industry. Within the leisure travel category, 2016 saw 6.4 million “marketable” visitors, which are travelers who could go anywhere and chose to visit Denver. Out-of-state leisure visitors comprised 80 percent of overnight leisure visitors.
Denver also earned national recognition for its culinary and beer scenes, and was named among the top places to live in the United States for the second consecutive year.
“Tourism is a huge economic driver for our city, and we are pleased we have been able to build on our success in driving visitor demand that fills our hotels, restaurants and attractions, while also driving tourism throughout Colorado,” saiys Scharf. “A healthy tourism brand stimulates business, and we are fortunate that Denver is so committed to investing in a tourism product that will keep us competitive well into the future.”
