According to a study by George Mason University, airports provide an economic boost by offering local businesses a larger market and allowing people to travel farther distances to network with potential business partners or clients.
April’s Garden
April’s Garden in Durango is able to provide a wider range and better quality products for patrons because of the regional airport. Though many flowers are locally grown, April’s Garden also ships in exotic flowers from around the world. Several times a week, shipments of fresh flowers are flown into the airport via FedEx and delivered to the shop on Main Avenue.
“Without overnight delivery, it would be really hard to meet my client’s expectations,” said manager Natalie McLain.
However, April’s Garden could better meet the clients’ needs.
“With the expansion of the airport, I feel, if it would bring in larger planes, it would be less of a fee for freight on board rather than overnight FedEx fee,” McLain said. “That would be huge because then prices for my product could be lowered.”
Animas City Theatre
Animas City Theatre has been providing Durango with entertainment in the form of dance, music and film. Though some acts drive to the destination, others fly into the regional airport from across the country to perform.
According to James Mirabal, manager of Animas City Theatre, it is sometimes hard to book acts for the venue because it is difficult for the talent to travel here.
“We are off the beaten path, as far as tour routes go,” Mirabal said. “So it can be challenging connecting a band from one place to another and getting them here in between.”
The expansion would give the venue the opportunity to be more accessible to artists.
“I believe the airport expansion would help. It would give us more options as far as ticket fare and airlines to get the talent in,” Mirabal said.
Mirabal said he also believes it would affect the amount of patrons the Theatre entertains. “When we have national touring acts come to our venue, we see in ticket sales buyers from all over the country flying in to see that group in such an intimate venue,” he said.
Purgatory Resort
Though Purgatory is not necessarily small, it is local. And like many other businesses in the region, it relies heavily on tourists and contributes a great deal to the region’s economy. In fact, the resort lures about half a million visitors annually.
Greg Ralph, vice president of sales and marketing at Purgatory Resort, said guests that travel from greater distances, such as Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, tend to spend the most money in La Plata County.
However, visitors face a variety of challenges traveling to the region due to inadequacies of the current airport.
“I think the flights are getting more and more difficult to book on a consistent basis,” Ralph said. “Flights are filling up. There are not enough flights in and out of some markets, and we don’t have the competition we need.”
Ralph said the expansion could improve life for both locals and tourists by bringing in more flights and competition, making flying into Durango-La Plata County Airport more affordable for families.
Durango Land and Homes
Christina Rinderle moved here from Indiana in 1999. She said the small, friendly community and access to the mountains and trails makes this community unique, and expanding the airport is not about growth, but maintaining the community’s asset.
“A lot of people who want to live and work remotely in a beautiful place like Durango, they need high-speed internet and they need air service,” Rinderle said. “Without those, it really limits our job opportunities.”
Whether businesses need to transport employees, export products or import supplies, the airport gives this region easier access to the rest of the world. Without the airport, businesses that currently operate here would have to relocate, causing the area to lose more than 2,000 jobs.
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