{"id":90755,"date":"2020-01-15T00:41:10","date_gmt":"2020-01-15T00:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/southwest-colorado-tourism-rebounds-but-not-for-everyone\/"},"modified":"2020-01-15T00:41:10","modified_gmt":"2020-01-15T00:41:10","slug":"southwest-colorado-tourism-rebounds-but-not-for-everyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/southwest-colorado-tourism-rebounds-but-not-for-everyone\/","title":{"rendered":"Southwest Colorado tourism rebounds, but not for everyone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Much
Much of Durango\u2019s tourism sector rebounded last year after the 416 Fire in 2018. But it was not uniform across all business sectors or tourism destinations.<\/span>Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A wet winter in 2019 helped pack slopes at Purgatory Resort and made rapids busy on the Animas River, but Durango\u2019s recovery from the 416 Fire hasn\u2019t been uniform.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did rebound from \u201918. \u2026 We\u2019re not all the way back to where we would like to be,\u201d said Tim Walsworth, executive director of the Business Improvement District.<\/p>\n

Some Durango business owners noticed that crowds came in waves last summer, packing hotels to capacity at times and leaving them half empty at others, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re hearing from key businesses that things were spotty,\u201d Walsworth said.<\/p>\n

The most recent reports from the city of Durango show sales tax revenues were up from January through October by 3.4% compared with the same period in 2017 and up 2.4% compared with the same period in 2018, Walsworth said. The rise in sales tax collections reported by BID accounts for the tax increase that took effect in July, so the 2017 percentages are not overinflated, he said.<\/p>\n

Despite the gains, seven of the 17 industry sectors BID tracks saw sales decline during the peak summer months of June, July and August compared with 2018, he said.<\/p>\n

Some of the sectors that saw declines included liquor stores, gift shops and galleries, he said. Business sectors that saw gains included restaurants and the miscellaneous retail shop category, which includes more than 100 stores, such as bike shops, furniture stores, hair salons and clothing shops.<\/p>\n

Railroad recovers<\/div>\n

One of the main drivers of tourism in town, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, drew about 190,000 riders in 2019, which is slightly below the train\u2019s yearly goal of 200,000 riders, said Kevin Martin, a spokesman for the railroad.<\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, we are pleased with the 2019 numbers compared to a down year in 2018,\u201d Martin said, in an email to The Durango Herald<\/em>. Train ridership was hurt in 2018 by the 416 Fire.<\/p>\n

The number of 2019 riders came close to 2017 ridership, which was 193,000 passengers, according to data provided by a former train spokesman in an interview last year.<\/p>\n

The train is not planning new events in 2020, but it is planning investments in train operations, marketing and other areas, Martin said.<\/p>\n

River trips rise more than 30%<\/div>\n

\"A
A Durango Rivertrippers & Adventure Tours raft goes through rapids last year in the Durango Whitewater Park. Commercial trips on the Animas River rose about 30% last year.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Strong snowpack helped rafting companies extend the 2019 season and bolstered commercial visits to the Animas River.<\/p>\n

The number of paddlers and anglers visiting the Animas River on a commercially guided trip increased about 30%, from 28,495 in 2018 to 37,553 in 2019, said Cathy Metz, director of Durango Parks and Recreation.<\/p>\n

The rafting industry saw the strong rise in visits despite some public fear about the high water early in the season, said David Moler, owner of Durango Rivertrippers & Adventure Tours.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started to see people not come because they were fearful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, the good snowpack made for a thrilling season in the summer months and allowed some commercial companies, including Durango Rivertrippers, to operate through September, he said. The previous year, Rivertrippers stopped offering rafting trips Aug. 20, he said.<\/p>\n

Moler said he would like to see more investment in advertising to help lure rafters to Durango. He would like to see river trip numbers restored to 2005 levels, when 55,000 people made the trip. Rafters, he said, typically buy lunch and a hotel stay.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to see the area marketing efforts double down on the Animas River, and that doesn\u2019t mean rafting, that means all aspects the river,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mesa Verde National Park<\/div>\n

Mesa Verde National Park saw its visitor numbers drop from 573,645 in 2018 to 566,286 in 2019, or about 1.2%, said spokeswoman Cristy Brown. Compared with 2017, that is a 9% drop, when 622,799 visitors made it to the park.<\/p>\n

Visits were down last year, in part, as a result of a partial federal government shutdown and rockfalls that closed the park in January and February, Brown said.<\/p>\n

The park\u2019s visitation numbers were up in June, July and August during peak tourist season, she said.<\/p>\n

Brown expects summer visitation rates to rise again this year as long as the area doesn\u2019t experience fires or road closures.<\/p>\n

\u201cNational Park Service sites across the country are seeing an increase in visitation, with many areas experiencing new record numbers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Purgatory Resort has turn-around season<\/div>\n

\"Nearly
Nearly 30 feet of snow fell during the 2018-19 season at Purgatory Resort, helping the resort rebuild after a dry season in 2017-18.<\/span>Courtesy of Grady James\/Purgatory Resort file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

After a tough drought year for Purgatory Resort during the 2017-18 season, the resort had one of its best seasons on record with nearly 30 feet of snow, said Stacy Glaser, senior marketing director with Mountain Capital Partners, which owns Purgatory.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year was perfectly timed to go from a really tough season where we were celebrating anytime it snowed even a few inches to having a season where we couldn\u2019t stop talking about the snow,\u201d Glaser said.<\/p>\n

The heavy snow helped draw back skiers who had gone elsewhere in 2017-18, she said. The resort doesn\u2019t release its skier visits, but it did say at the end of the 2018-19 season it had double-digit growth in skier visits compared with the previous year.<\/p>\n

However, the resort is still \u201crebuilding\u201d after 2017, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur hope and our intention is always grow our skier visits,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

mshinn@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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