The outlook for tourism is bright for summer, but the social experience for Durango residents is changing as tourism grows, experts said at the spring tourism briefing.
Lodgers tax collections increased 7.5 percent in 2016 compared to the previous year, and lodgers tax collections for first three months of this year have increased 9.7 percent compared to the same period last year, according to city records.
Executive Director of the Durango Area Tourism Office Bob Kunkel expects another strong year. But he urged the crowd to consider the benefits of a conference center and facilities that could draw visitors during the spring and fall – visitors who would not be deterred by weather or lured away by a different destination.
“Imagine the many benefits of steady year-round business,” he said.
Tourism employed about 6,000 people in La Plata County in 2015, accounting for 26 percent of all employment, according a recent report by Region 9 Economic Development District of Southwest Colorado.
To boost tourism, the tourism office plans to promote the 29 crafted beverage companies across the region, including breweries, cideries, wineries, distilleries and craft soda producers.
The marketing campaign was funded by a $20,000 grant from the Colorado Tourism Office and the Durango office will add $20,000. Kunkel expects the campaign will last several years.
“Crafted beverages taps an important trend in the Colorado tourism sector, and connects to other movements such as farm-to-table,” he said.
While tourism is a key part of the economy, as more visitors come to a region, it can weigh on the social life of residents, said Elizabeth Cartier, a doctoral student at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
Cartier is a Durango resident and she studied tourism’s impact on the economy, the environment and social behavior.
She found some in the community who don’t want tourism to grow, and who try to avoid tourists. For example, residents may choose not to ski at Purgatory Resort over spring break.
“It changes our relationships, our interactions, our social world,” she said in an interview.
Similar trends are found elsewhere and she cited Doxey’s Irridex model, which shows the correlation between the growth of tourism and the increased irritation of the community.
Trends in travel are shifting toward visitors wanting to be a part of a community, eating where the locals eat and staying in vacation rentals rather than hotels.
But the more visitors want to belong, the more communities avoid them, which can hurt tourism.
“No one wants to travel where they aren’t wanted,” she said.
As a tourism destination matures, it can see stagnation and decline or rejuvenation. But rejuvenation requires community support.
Tourism in Durango isn’t near stagnation , she said. But it’s important for the community to stay informed about the economics of tourism, so residents will support infrastructure projects, she said.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
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