Tourists spent $28.2B in Colorado last year, representing nearly 4% growth in spending

DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado's tourism industry grew in several aspects during 2023, according to the Colorado Tourism Office, which reported that the state's tourism industry created $28.2 billion in travel spending from about 93.3 million visitors.

Travel spending, boosted by inflation prices, increased by 3.9% to $28.2 billion last year, and half of the growth is attributed to the Denver metro and Front Range counties, according to a report prepared for the Colorado Tourism Office by Dean Runyan Associates. The report also found that when considering the reduced purchasing power of a dollar, the revenue only increased by 1.8%.

A second report by Longwoods Travel USA shows that visitation increased by 3.6%, up from 90 million visitors in 2022. Reflecting those changes, state and local tax revenue grew to a combined $1.8 billion last year, which is 5.7% more than in 2022.

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