Summer tourism season coming to a close, yielding better results than expected

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- As Labor Day Weekend approaches, the Pikes Peak region's summer tourism season nears its end, with better-than-expected visitor numbers. Officials clarify that numbers, though, are still down from 2019.

Overall, Colorado Springs tourism has rebounded nicely compared to the rest of the state and country.

Hotel occupancy jumped from a low of 18.1% in April to 66% in July in Colorado Springs. In the local leisure, tourism, and restaurant sector, about 85% of jobs lost at the start of the pandemic have been recovered. However, there are still less than 8,400 employees below last Augusts' peak numbers.

Manitou Springs Mayor, John Graham, stated at the 2020 Mayors Panel in late July, "It concerns me that we do have such a one-sided economy. At the moment, I think the intention is to act smarter, to do what we've done in the past, and to appeal to basically the Front Range population."

In 2019, the City of Colorado Springs reported that travel and tourism supported 20,000 workers and generated $97 million in local tax revenue. Travel-related spending generated $171 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenue in 2018.