Colorado Fires Impact Tourism?

The state of Colorado has been plagued with wildfires, and those fires a making some potential tourists think twice about their visit.

Experts have said the fires are serious, but that tourists will likely not have to cancel their plans.

Alison Fell from California is planning on driving down to Colorado for a visit, but all the news of the High Park and Springer fires almost changed her plans.

“The second I heard that there were so many fires in Colorado my first instinct was, ‘Oh my gosh, we have to cancel the trip because everywhere we go there are going to be problems,'” said Fell.

In southern Colorado experts in tourism said that education is important. There are fires, but they are not everywhere and there are still places to enjoy a vacation.

“We have been in constant contact with the attractions. There are dude ranches that are hosting people still, so there is a lot of opportunity. People should not be deterred by the fires,” said Chelsy Murphy, the public relations manager with the Colorado Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Fell said she still plans to visit the Colorado Mountains, and that tourists should support Colorado after all the destruction caused by the fire.

“I feel so bad for the people that are in those areas and have lost everything. I’m just hoping that they can rebuild and continue with their lives, and hopefully tourists won’t be detoured,” said Fell.

Larger fires like the High Park Fire near Fort Collins might do the most damage to tourism there, but the visitors’ bureau in Colorado Spring said it hopes that the smaller fires in our area won’t stop people from coming.