Tourism to La Plata County, including international travel, is on the decline, according to the city of Durango.
Based on aggregated hotel occupancy, tourism fell by 8% from April through June – the second quarter of the fiscal year – and by about 1.5% in the first quarter, said Durango Prosperity Officer Mike French.
For reference, La Plata County’s quarterly hotel room supply is 219,600 rooms. In Q1, the total occupancy rate was nearly 49% – about 107,400 rooms booked.
Visitation from Canada and Mexico – the county’s top foreign tourism markets – is down, with the Canadian market dropping more than 50% from last year, French said.
Purgatory Resort General Manager Dave Rathbun said Canada is the resort’s leading international market, although other Colorado ski destinations receive even more Canadian travelers.
He said Canadian travel across Colorado is down about 55%, based on bookings.
Canadian visitors spent $97,100 from January through May this year, compared with $132,800 during the same period last year, according to Visa Destination Insights, which provides tourism data to the city.
Visa Destination Insights is a data-sharing program that collects and provides aggregated, depersonalized spending data from Visa cardholder transactions, said Rachel Welch, Visit Durango spokeswoman. It helps destination marketers and governments understand visitor behavior and international markets.
The Mexico travel market fared better, though it also had less visitation this year compared to last year. Mexican travelers spent $171,500 from January through May this year, compared with $196,000 during the same period in 2024.
Other international visitors spent these amounts in La Plata County from January through May this year:
- German travelers spent $61,800.
- Australian travelers spent $59,600.
- French travelers spent $55,400.
- British travelers spent $48,100.
- Swiss travelers spent $32,100.
- Norwegian travelers spent $21,200.
- Chilean travelers spent $17,400.
- Dutch travelers spent $15,700.
Hotels generated $12.3 million in revenue from January through March this year, compared with $12.5 million last year and $12.6 million in 2023, according to Smith Travel Research, another dataset used by the city.
French said national and international politics are major factors in reduced international tourism to La Plata County from its top foreign markets.
“One hundred percent,” he said. “For different reasons. (The) Canadian market is really centered around tariffs. The Mexican market is centered around immigration policies.”
The Trump administration has imposed a 10% tariff on energy and energy resources imported from Canada, a 10% tariff on non-duty-free potash and a 25% tariff on other Canadian imports, according to the Trade Compliance Resource Hub.
Rathbun, who grew up on the U.S.-Canadian border, said he couldn’t speak to how tariffs affected Canadian travel but believes political rhetoric has had an impact.
“Having a lot of family and friends that are Canadian, I will tell you that suggesting that Canada might become the 51st state probably had a bigger psychological impact on behavior than a lot of the other things,” he said.
He was referring to statements made by President Donald Trump during trade talks, suggesting the United States should annex Canada.
“Frankly, Canada should be the 51st state, they really should. Because Canada relies entirely on the United States, we don't rely on Canada,” Trump said in a June 27 interview on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures.
Rathbun added that Canada has historically been sensitive to the strength of the U.S. dollar.
He said he couldn’t speak to whether the Trump administration’s beefed up immigration enforcement has affected Mexican visitation to Purgatory but believes general uncertainty impacts visitation overall.
French said tourism officials expect a soft market, meaning a slight decrease in revenue compared to the past three years, which were particularly strong.
“The last two to three years have been exceptionally strong. I don’t think that’s sustainable given today’s economic climate,” he said.
In June, Ellen Babers, the city’s community events specialist, said a prominent trend among domestic travelers this year is waiting until 24 or 48 hours before making hotel reservations.
Visit Durango Interim Executive Director Barbara Bowman attributed last-minute bookings to economic uncertainty.
“People are a little bit fearful,” she said. “They still want to travel, but they’re holding off and waiting to book until the last minute.”
She said she expects a “shorter drive market” to develop – where travelers will drive shorter distances, stay fewer days, spend less and book lodging with shorter lead times.
What does less international and domestic travel mean for La Plata County’s tourism industry?
French said the Tourism Commission, Visit Durango and industry professionals must be more strategic in marketing efforts and consider who those campaigns are targeting.
He said it’s a good time for the city to contemplate the value of a visitor – not just how much they spend, but how they contribute to the community, what expectations exist, and how to balance quality of life for residents and visitors.
“Things are going to settle. We’re going to have a good remainder of the summer,” French said. “But we might be in a little bit of a new normal in terms of what we can expect.”
cburney@durangoherald.com
