As the nation braces for a downturn in the tourism industry, declines in Durango’s summer visitation rates are projected to be minor, and local businesses remain optimistic.
Tourism in La Plata County declined 20% in February and March compared with the same months last year, according to data from Visit Durango.
The tourism office expects this summer to be a “correction summer,” because last year’s visitation numbers outpaced trends seen elsewhere in Colorado. This season, officials anticipate local visitation to stabilize and align with statewide averages, said Rachel Welsh, a spokeswoman Visit Durango.
Most summer visitors are expected to arrive by car, especially from nearby regions such as New Mexico, Arizona, Denver and Colorado Springs, Welsh said.
“We encourage our local community to help our tourism industry by inviting their friends and family to visit,” she said. “With the current economic climate, we must support our local businesses.”
So far, local businesses are not concerned about a potential drop in tourist traffic.
Nationally, airline companies have experienced a significant decline in travel, which is projected to continue into the summer months. But Durango-La Plata County Airport is bucking the trend.
“The overall growth of passenger traffic here in our market, at least so far in 2025, is significantly outstripping what we’re seeing on the national level,” said Toni Vicari, the airport’s director of aviation.
While the number of travelers passing through TSA checkpoints nationally has flattened, Vicari said the airport has seen a 13% increase this year.
Although the data do not distinguish between local travelers and incoming tourists, he said a significant portion of the traffic is tourism-related.
Vicari said the local market has so far been “resilient.”
The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is similarly optimistic. Although summer reservations are down slightly, owner Al Harper said it’s not a cause for concern.
“We set all-time records three years in a row,” he said. “I don’t know if you can do that every year.”
The summer season has not officially started, and the railroad sells a lot of walk-up tickets, he said.
Harper emphasized that while “right now, we may be down slightly, it’s not big numbers. We will have a good year.”
Alex Mickel, owner of Mild to Wild Rafting & Jeep Tours, said that while some of the rafting outfit’s other locations are experiencing an uptick in reservations, Durango is not among them.
Although international tourism is down nationwide, Mickel said foreign visitors account for only a small percentage of his business, and he doesn’t believe that is behind the drop in local bookings.
Instead, he speculated that an increase in local anti-tourism sentiment may be playing a role.
Mickel said there is less of a community support for promoting tourism than there was five years ago.
Looking ahead, Mickel said the one factor that could significantly impact the business is wildfires.
“My biggest fear would be if we have a dry spring and early summer that we could see some fires, especially below the 8,500-foot level here to the south,” he said. “... As you can imagine, if you have a choice to go somewhere full of smoke, or somewhere it’s not, you’d much rather go where it’s not smoky.”
jbowman@durangoherald.com
