In The NoCo

Colorado mountain towns saw a dip in tourism this summer. Where did those visitors go?

By In The NoCo,

Published August 18, 2025 at 6:11 AM MDT

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A climber ascends along the Ouray Via Ferrata route above the Uncompahgre River, July 11, 2024, in Ouray County. She is wearing a blue helmet, black shirt and leggings, and a safety harness around her waist. Via Ferrata is a mixture of climbing and hiking with protection involving steel fixtures, such as hand and foot holds and cable railings, to traverse across rugged mountain landscapes.

After several years of record-setting numbers, Colorado's mountain towns are experiencing an unexpected summer slowdown in tourism.

A drop in international visitors is a significant factor. This year, European visitors to mountain towns in Colorado and six other Western states are down 39 percent compared to 2024. Canadian visitors dropped 58 percent from last year.

The trend has state and local officials concerned about the challenges this creates for mountain communities where visitor spending drives the economy.

Colorado Sun reporter Jason Blevins recently wrote about the summer tourism sag. He spoke with Erin O’Toole about what’s driving the decline and how it's impacting local businesses.

For more on the Colorado economy, check out recent In The NoCo conversations with Jason about how the Trump administration’s tariffs are affecting Colorado’s outdoor businesses and how a new AI-powered commentator and referee could transform how we watch sports.

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In The NoCo

KUNC's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.

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Erin O'Toole

As the host of KUNC’s news program and podcast In The NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.

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Brad Turner

Brad Turner is an executive producer in KUNC's newsroom. He manages the podcast team that makes In The NoCo, which also airs weekdays in Morning Edition and All Things Considered. His work as a podcaster and journalist has appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition, NPR Music, the PBS Newshour, Colorado Public Radio, MTV Online, the Denver Post, Boulder's Daily Camera, and the Longmont Times-Call.

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Ariel Lavery

Ariel Lavery grew up in Louisville, Colorado and has returned to the Front Range after spending over 25 years moving around the country. She co-created the podcast Middle of Everywhere for WKMS, Murray State University’s NPR member station, and won Public Media Journalism awards in every season she produced for Middle of Everywhere. Her most recent series project is "The Burn Scar", published with The Modern West podcast. In it, she chronicles two years of her family’s financial and emotional struggle following the loss of her childhood home in the Marshall Fire.

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