DENVER — In 2023, Denver welcomed a record-setting 37.4 million domestic visitors, which was a 3% increase over the previous record set in 2022, according to a report released by Visit Denver.
The report also says the record number of visitors in the city generated $10.3 billion in tourism revenue, which was the most money spent in Denver than ever before.
"We're thrilled that both the number of tourists and the revenue generated from those tourists hit record breaking numbers," said Taylor Shields, the director of communications and public relations for Visit Denver.
On a warm, sunny day in downtown Denver, it's likely you'll bump into a touring group, like the one John Mayr was leading Tuesday morning.
"We start out at the Capitol and we end at Union Station," he said.
Mayr told Denver7 he wasn't surprised to hear Denver tourism hit a new record with all the city has to offer.
"Denver's a sports town. It's a town for the arts. It's a town with a very rich history, has so much to offer to so many people around the world," said Mayr.
It's all of those things that brought Lothar Jaeger and his friends to make a stop in Denver all the way from Germany.
"We landed in Boston, and then we came from Boston to Cape Cod, Pennsylvania, Vancouver," Jaeger said. "We visited Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills, and then we came down to Denver."
He told Denver7 he and his group first started planning their U.S. trip in the fall of 2023. He said they wanted to make sure to stop in Denver for a few days because they'd heard great reviews.
"We heard a lot about it, it should be very interesting to watch, and so much other stuff is going on," he said. "Then we go to the tour here and learn about the history and everything else which is out there in the city."
Though visitors aren't only coming from other countries, some are visiting from much closer.
"We came from Las Vegas. We got in yesterday," said Rick Beavin, "Yesterday evening we went to Union Station, checked it out, and we went walking around north of there to the creek."
Beavin and his daughter aren't among the few visiting top spots, like Union Station.
The report says the following are top visited attractions when it comes to shopping and entertainment:
- Cherry Creek area
- 16th Street Mall
- Lower Downtown Historic Area
- Denver Pavilions
- Colorado Mills Mall
After months of work being done on the 16th Street Mall Andrew Iltis, the vice president of planning community impact with the Downtown Denver Partnership, says they're hoping that only continues boosting tourism more and more.
"We're really seeing tourism pick up, especially in the summertime when we have, you know, kids out of school," he said. "We have people looking for places to visit, people coming to visit the mountains, and they're making a stop in downtown and checking out what we have to offer, like this new block on 16th Street."
Iltis says his hope is tourists continue visiting Denver, especially this year.
The tourists Denver7 spoke with Tuesday said they'd had an unforgettable time, so far.
"It just feels like it's welcoming to come out, everybody's friendly," Beavin said.
