Denver set new records in 2023 for both domestic visitors and money spent by those visitors — eclipsing $10 billion for the first time, it was announced Tuesday.
Visit Denver, the city’s tourism sales and marketing agency, said last year’s visitor total of 37.4 million was a 3% bump over 2022. And the $10.3 billion in Denver’s tourism revenue last year outpaced the $9.4 billion collected the prior year by nearly 10%.
“Tourism is vital to the Denver economy and we are pleased to see our momentum continue in 2023, especially after the dramatic growth we saw in 2022,” Richard Scharf, Visit Denver’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “Denver’s tourism businesses, most of which are small and locally owned, rely on these visitors to fuel their success, which allows them to continue to hire employees – almost 66,000 across the metro area in 2023 – and to generate millions in state and local taxes.”
Overnight visitors totaled 20.5 million last year, a 3% rise from the previous year, generating $8.8 billion in spending in the Mile High City. Overnight leisure visits were top in growth last year, rising by 5% over 2022 to a new high of 17.5 million.
Longwoods International provided the Denver visitor data through its annual visitor profile study, which it has conducted for Denver for 30 years. The company’s president and CEO, Amir Eylon, said tourism in Denver in 2023 returned “to levels more in line with 2019,” the year before the coronavirus pandemic struck the state.
And Denver is doing comparably well nationally, Eylon said, “offering visitors both sought-after urban experiences and easy access to outdoor activities.”
The study revealed that visitors come to Denver consistently year-round, with a “modest surge” of visitors in the warmer months. And Denver International Airport plays a crucial role in moving those visitors in and out, with 40% of overnight Denver visitors arriving by plane in 2023.
The average overnight Denver visitor spent $427 per trip. In total, nearly $3 billion was spent on transportation, $2.5 billion on lodging and nearly $1.5 billion on drinks and food in 2023. Recreation, sightseeing and entertainment garnered the city $749 million last year, a 9.3% bump over 2022.
California, Texas, Kansas and Florida were the top four states, outside Colorado itself, in sending visitors to the Mile High City in 2023. And the top five cities sending overnight visitors to the city were Los Angeles, Albuquerque/Santa Fe, New York City, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Houston.
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