OOPS...OUT OF COUNTRY LOOKS LIKE CONCERN

coloradosun.com/2025/08/04/colorado-mountain-summer-tourism/

International tourism collapses

A consistent and growing decline in international visitors is leading the slowdown in visitation to mountain towns.

Bookings by Canadian travelers are down 58% compared with 2024, bookings from European visitors are down 39% and reservations from the Aussies and Kiwis are down 21%. The number of international tourists visiting Colorado has not returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The Trump administration’s tariff policies and chatter about annexing Canada have irked a growing number of America’s northern and southern neighbors who are eschewing U.S. holidays.

“We are mostly concerned about what that international decline means for next January,” said Eliza Voss with the Aspen Chamber Resort Association, which markets Aspen and Snowmass, two communities that draw large numbers of international travelers every winter. “I think the political climate and uncertainty around tariffs has impacted what you are seeing.”

International travelers stay, on average, for eight days when they vacation in Colorado. And they spend three to five times more per person than domestic travelers. Those international travelers can boost local economies with fewer people in town, creating a smaller impact than, say, lots of day-trippers who spend less.

“International is one of our top priorities,” Wolfe said. “We know these are high-value guests for communities.”

Combine the dip in international vacationers with growing reticence among U.S. travelers and the booking pace for the summer across Western resorts is down more than 7%.

“The biggest challenge right now is how long does the international decline continue?” asked Tom Foley, the head data cruncher at DestiMetrics who has spent decades studying resort-town visitation trends. “The largest visitor base coming into the U.S. is from Canada and they are simply not reserving the way they were. Because of the very personal response of Canadian consumers to the tariffs and conversations around sovereignty, we don’t actually see any evidence that an end is in sight for lower Canadian numbers at Western U.S. resorts.”

Lodgekeepers are trying to offset the dip in numbers by raising room rates, which are up about 4% compared with 2024. But that can be a tricky game. Raise prices too much and communities can pretty much eliminate an entire segment of visitors.

FOR EVERY ACTION ...THERE IS A REACTION.....TOURISM TANKING.

How much time did you spend searching for what you consider to be bad news during the Auto-Pen administration? I’m guessing zero minutes.

I think it’s time for you to step away from the phone/computer for a while, since you are clearly suffering from your own self inflicted panic.

PANIC??? OH, THAT IS RICH....KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. MACRO IS MANDATORY AND SELF AVOCATION SHOULD BE STANDARD.

homeagain wrote: PANIC??? OH, THAT IS RICH....KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. MACRO IS MANDATORY AND SELF AVOCATION SHOULD BE STANDARD.

Sounds like a Kamala Harris line... LOL

America is much more wealthy per capita than Canada and Europe. If the Canadians and Euros stay home, will Americans also decide now would be a great time to rediscover the US?

Already much of Europe is screaming about over tourism and wanting to charge per visit.

And now we have President Trump wanting to charge $250 per person for the rest of the world to visit us. Supposedly this is to prevent foreign nationals from overstaying their visas, but Donald knows the Olympics and World Cup will be played here so might as well earn some money from devoted soccer hooligans.