There were rumblings from local Summit County residents in Colorado’s high country that it felt like an especially quiet spring season in regard to visitors. Well, that feeling has been justified, at least at this point, by the Breckenridge Tourism Office, and its latest data models on visitor numbers.
“Looking at this past winter, we were down about 12% in guest nights for spring break, for example, and then looking at the winter overall, we’re feeling that it was down overall as well,” Melissa Andrews with the Breckenridge Tourism Office said.
That guest nights figure deserves some context in order to fully understand, as well as acknowledge that it’s not a complete set of data at this point, according to the BTO. But it is enough to notice a trend.
The cause? The BTO said the town is still on a decline from outlier peak numbers post pandemic, when people flocked to mountain towns after staying home for so long. In comparison to those boom years, things have certainly dropped down, but Andrews said this last year’s projections are more than the office was anticipating, which plays into the travel industry as a whole.
“I would say there are indicators through consumer confidence, stock markets, that there is some wariness about travel ahead, that it’s going to be a little bit more challenging for tourism than we have felt in recent years,” Andrews added. “As industry tourism right now, we are getting ourselves prepared to work a little bit harder to bring tourists to our destination.”
Tourism is something the county deeply relies on as a part of its economy. So in order to stack things in the town’s favor, the town office is taking active steps like sprucing up their tourism page with a new fresh look, eliminating barriers of entry for potential visitors and helping showcase the beauty of the local area.
“The great thing is, Breckenridge is resilient,” Andrews said. “We have an incredible brand that has stood the test of time, really as it’s evolved from both the ski resort town into now a year-round destination for outdoor recreation and the accessibility from Denver, so as you’re planning your trip, we’ve got hundreds of ideas on that website, easy to find and easy to inspire new visitors.”
