Denver set new records for visitor volume and spending last year, according to the
Longwoods International annual visitor profile study.
The report, commissioned by
Visit Denver, found that the city welcomed 13.6 million overnight visitors in 2012, 3 percent more than in 2011 and an all-time high.
The increase was reflected in both leisure and business travel. In leisure travel, the greatest improvement was in "marketable" trips by people who could travel to any destination but who specifically chose to visit Denver, which rose by 9 percent to 5 million visitors.
Overnight business travel to Denver continued to rebound after reaching a multi-year low in 2010, with 2.3 million business trips in 2012. That's up 6 percent over 2011 and 24 percent over 2010. Convention and conference business increased 5 percent to 880,000, and general business trips rose 7 percent to 1.4 million in 2012, from 1.3 million the previous year.
“We are very pleased to see that our marketing efforts are working and that we continue to see an increase in the amount of lucrative 'marketable' visitors that come to Denver," says Richard Scharf, President and Chief Executive of Visit Denver. "Tourism and conventions don't just happen. The Longwoods study allows us to see that since 2005 when voters approved more marketing dollars for Denver, we have seen a 43 percent increase in the number of leisure visitors coming to our city."
Denver's overnight visitors also set a new spending record in 2012, generating $3.6 billion of spending -- 9 percent more than in 2011.
Contact Confluence Denver Development News Editor Margaret Jackson with tips and leads for future stories at margaret@confluence-denver.com.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.