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Tourism industry predictions bright for Southwest Colorado

State officials gathering regional visitor data

All the indicators for the summer tourism season look positive.

Low gas prices, the 100th anniversary of the National Parks Service and the renovations at the Grand Imperial Hotel in Silverton are just a few factors that could boost the tourism industry, which supports 6,000 jobs, said Bob Kunkel, executive director of the Durango Area Tourism Office.

“We’re feeling pretty good,” he said.

Colorado Tourism Office staff members joined Kunkel on Wednesday at the Spring Tourism Industry Briefing at the Strater Hotel. State officials are on a statewide trip to meet with regional tourism industry workers.

While Colorado is the sixth-most desirable state to explore, it is only the 17th most-visited, and the Colorado Tourism Office is focused on closing that gap, said Cathy Ritter, director of the Colorado Tourism Office. Ritter started in the state’s top tourism job in November, and now her office is working on a industry report to guide the office for three years.

Gathering data and drafting the report is expected to take eight months and Tourism Office staff members plan to visit Durango two more times this summer to gather input and to vet priorities, said Mitch Nichols, who is working on the report.

Affordable housing for tourism industry workers and the popularity of vacation rentals are issues likely to be discussed, Ritter said.

“We’re going to have 100,000 critical issues. ... We’re going to come back and test those critical issues with you,” Nichols said.

The office is also gathering data on Colorado’s image.

While state officials are refining Colorado’s marketing, Kunkel predicted Durango will continue to build on five years of lodgers tax growth.

A new seasonal flight to Los Angeles will start in June, and two new hotels – the La Quinta Inns and Suites by the Durango Mall and the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott on U.S. Highway 160 – are positive signs, he said.

mshinn@durangoherald.com



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