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BRECKENRIDGE — Breckenridge is on pace for more summer visitors this year than last year, but the economic recession's impact could cause a moderate dip in revenue.
The town has “such a strong draw” for tourism in summer because of its diverse events and attractions; however, “the expectation is that the ability to visit but not spend quite as much money is really there,” said Nolan Rosall, president of consulting firm RRC Associates.
“We don't see it falling off a cliff or anything like that — but just in comparisons year-to-year, we think it'll be softer,” he said.
Breckenridge Resort Chamber spokeswoman Carly Grimes said the pace for bookings is ahead compared with this time in 2008, and last-minute bookings are up as well.
At the end of May, bookings in Breckenridge for July were down only 6 percent overall. However, trends show that visitors are booking shorter stays, shopping around for deals and staying closer to home, she said in an e-mail.
June's booking numbers were down 15 percent at the end of May, and this month's numbers have been down in part because of the weather conditions, she said in the e-mail.
Kingdom Days, a historic annual event involving outhouse races and parties, occurs June 20-21.
“The thing with Kingdom Days is everything is free,” Grimes said. “That's definitely an enticing aspect of a lot of our events.”
Breckenridge is hosting numerous special events this summer as part of its sesquicentennial celebration. And Breckenridge Bike Week — which was recently added to the lineup — is expected to attract many cyclists during the post-Independence Day week from July 6-10.
Grimes said advertising aiming to attract heritage tourists for the Breck 150 appears to be working as well.
Wave Dreher, with AAA Colorado, said that in a survey of tourists exploring Colorado, some 25 percent said they planned to visit historic sites. She added that the company's EnCompass magazine will feature Breck 150 in its July/August issue.
“We always try to do the best of the best that people in Colorado can go see,” she said.
Dreher said lower gas prices could also be sending more traffic to the mountains this year.
She said Friday that with an average price of $2.54 per gallon that week, the number was down from $3.98 in 2008. In 2007 that week, it was $3.24.
“So that is going to be encouraging drive vacations this summer,” Dreher said. “We know this economy is taking a toll on people ... we're saying probably a slight
(visitor) increase this summer — maybe 1 or 2 percent.”
Rosall said that whether the town could be expected to have more visitors and less revenue, it's a tough prediction “because the impact of the economy — it has its weight.”
Robert Allen can be contacted at (970) 668-4628 or rallen@summitdaily.com.
The town has “such a strong draw” for tourism in summer because of its diverse events and attractions; however, “the expectation is that the ability to visit but not spend quite as much money is really there,” said Nolan Rosall, president of consulting firm RRC Associates.
“We don't see it falling off a cliff or anything like that — but just in comparisons year-to-year, we think it'll be softer,” he said.
Breckenridge Resort Chamber spokeswoman Carly Grimes said the pace for bookings is ahead compared with this time in 2008, and last-minute bookings are up as well.
At the end of May, bookings in Breckenridge for July were down only 6 percent overall. However, trends show that visitors are booking shorter stays, shopping around for deals and staying closer to home, she said in an e-mail.
June's booking numbers were down 15 percent at the end of May, and this month's numbers have been down in part because of the weather conditions, she said in the e-mail.
Kingdom Days, a historic annual event involving outhouse races and parties, occurs June 20-21.
“The thing with Kingdom Days is everything is free,” Grimes said. “That's definitely an enticing aspect of a lot of our events.”
Breckenridge is hosting numerous special events this summer as part of its sesquicentennial celebration. And Breckenridge Bike Week — which was recently added to the lineup — is expected to attract many cyclists during the post-Independence Day week from July 6-10.
Grimes said advertising aiming to attract heritage tourists for the Breck 150 appears to be working as well.
Wave Dreher, with AAA Colorado, said that in a survey of tourists exploring Colorado, some 25 percent said they planned to visit historic sites. She added that the company's EnCompass magazine will feature Breck 150 in its July/August issue.
“We always try to do the best of the best that people in Colorado can go see,” she said.
Dreher said lower gas prices could also be sending more traffic to the mountains this year.
She said Friday that with an average price of $2.54 per gallon that week, the number was down from $3.98 in 2008. In 2007 that week, it was $3.24.
“So that is going to be encouraging drive vacations this summer,” Dreher said. “We know this economy is taking a toll on people ... we're saying probably a slight
(visitor) increase this summer — maybe 1 or 2 percent.”
Rosall said that whether the town could be expected to have more visitors and less revenue, it's a tough prediction “because the impact of the economy — it has its weight.”
Robert Allen can be contacted at (970) 668-4628 or rallen@summitdaily.com.
