Tourism Pays

The Importance of Tourism

• The Pikes Peak Region welcomed 25.5 million visitors in 2024
• These visitors spent a total of $3.1 billion
• Travel and tourism bring more than $8.5 million per day into the local economy
• Tourism is the 3rd largest employer in the Pikes Peak Region, providing more than 40,000 jobs
• Every $1 invested in tourism promotions creates $48 in economic activity and $2.59 in local tax revenue
• 73% of overnight travelers to the region are repeat visitors, and 53% visited within the last 12 months
• Tourism spending saves each local family of four $945 in annual taxes
• Regional tourism workers earn more than $1 billion annually

Cutting Tourism Promotional Spending is Risky

• When tourism promotional spending is cut, there is a loss of direct spending as well as a loss of jobs, reduced wages and reduced tax collections
• The impact of cutting tourism spending can be seen by studying the Colorado experience of 1993-1997, when the tourism promotion budget was reduced to zero
• The critical question is "how many lost visitors does it take to negate the savings of a reduced or eliminated promotional budget?"
• According to the Colorado study, the answer is less than 1%. It takes only a 1% reduction in visitation to completely negate the savings of reduced promotional spending
• For more information on the importance of tourism and our national economy, please visit TravelEffect.com