Tourists spent lots of time, money in region

Rising gas prices didn’t keep tourists away from Northern Colorado this summer.

The region had one of the best tourist seasons in recent years, according to officials at convention and visitors bureaus and chambers of commerce in Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley and Estes Park.

“The weather was good, and we didn’t have a bad fire season,´ said Jim Clark, executive director of the Fort Collins Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We are somewhat subservient to the weather in this business.”

Fort Collins also had a good season because of three events that drew more than 15,000 people to the region this summer. Those events included a Campus Crusade for Christ staff conference, several Jehovah’s Witness conventions and a girls’ softball tournament.

Clark measures the city’s success by hotel and motel occupancy. The lodging tax the city collects from hotels and motels is up about 10 percent over last year, Clark said.

Rafting companies in the Poudre Canyon also reported one of their best summers yet, Clark said. Rafting trips continued through Labor Day, a result of plenty of snowmelt that ran late this year.

Gas prices may have had some effect in Northern Colorado. Numbers were down about 15 percent this summer at the Loveland Visitors Center on U.S. Highway 34, west of Interstate 25.

“The only thing we have to point to is gas prices,´ said Scott Lee, coordinator of the center.

About 20,000 people, the majority of them out-of-state tourists in the summertime, stop and sign in at the center each year.

Attendance at summer events in Loveland has increased, including the Loveland Sculpture Invitational and the Corn Roast Festival, both in August.

Gaye Stockman, president and CEO of the Loveland Chamber of Commerce, attributes the increase to better marketing.

“People who live in the area are becoming more aware of events like the sculpture show,” she said.

Attendance was also up this year at summer events in Greeley, including the Greeley Stampede, Greeley Arts Picnic and High Plains Chautauqua. The July lodging tax in Greeley was up 14 percent over last July, said Sarah MacQuiddy, president of the Greeley Chamber of Commerce.

The city hasn’t seen that big an increase in almost 10 years, she said. The average growth has been about 6 percent.

MacQuiddy attributes much of the lodging tax increase to a boom in business activity, not tourism. Several large retailers have opened stores in Greeley this summer, and they typically bring in out-of-town employees to help with grand openings. Those employees stay for a week or two in Greeley hotels.

In Estes Park, the tourist season isn’t over. Changing aspen trees and the elk bugling season are expected to draw thousands of visitors to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park this month.

“September is one of our highest months in terms of dollars spent and sales tax revenue,´ said Suzy Blackhurst, communications coordinator for the Estes Park Convention and Visitors Bureau. “September is stronger than June.”

Revenues from lodging and dining have increased this summer, but retail sales are down. Blackhurst said that mirrors a decrease in retail sales statewide.

It’s too early to tell if the recent spike in gas prices to more than $3 a gallon will affect the remainder of the Estes Park tourist season, Blackhurst said.

“If people have already made reservations to come, gas prices probably won’t deter them,” she said. “But are we concerned that gas prices will affect Colorado tourism in the long run? I think we’d be crazy not to be concerned.”

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