DENVER — Denver welcomed 37.1 million domestic visitors in 2024 and generated $10.3 billion in tourism spending, matching the previous year for record-breaking tourism in the Mile High City.
“Despite concerns about the economy among travelers, you saw a year that sustained those record high-level volumes of visitation and record levels of visitor spending,” said Amir Eylon, president and CEO of Longwoods International.
Longwoods International, a marking research group, compiled the data for Visit Denver, the city’s official tourism sales and marketing agency.
The study found that, while there is a slight preference for summer tourism, Denver experienced about the same amount of tourism each quarter in 2024. Specifically, Denver saw 22% of visitors in Q1, 26% in Q2, 28% in Q3 and 23% in Q4.
“The cool thing about Denver is that over the past decade, it's really evolved to be a year-round destination,” Eylon said.
The most visited attractions were Cherry Creek Mall, 16th Street Mall, Denver Pavilions, Red Rocks, Denver Performing Arts Complex and neighborhood arts districts. Museums and sporting events were also a big draw.
The top four states from which people are visiting Denver are Texas, California, Florida, and Arizona.
Travelers are enjoying their trips. Over 80% of overnight visitors are repeat guests.
Eylon says it is clear Denver tourism has recovered from the pandemic much quicker than comparable cities.
“We look back to 2019. You saw just shy of 32 million visitors, and now you're just over 37 million, so I think it's safe to say not only are you back, you went way past it,” Eylon said.
Longwoods forecasts that travelers plan to spend less on summer travel this year but are not canceling their trips.
