Tourism Association Says Winter Grew, While Summer Season Cannot

Memorial Day Weekend is here once again signifying the unofficial start to summer. It's this time of year we start seeing visitors pour into the Gunnison Valley. Many of our shops and restaurants will be re-opening this weekend to accommodate our guests.

In a recent article in the Crested Butte News, we hear the director of the Gunnison-Crested Butte Tourism Association (TA), John Norton's take on the direction of tourism in the Gunnison Valley. During a Tuesday report to the Gunnison Board of County Commissioners, Norton talked about the growth within the Gunnison Valley and how we are ranking among similar resort communities. Lodging is becoming tight as we're seeing out hotels, short term rentals, condos and B&Bs filling up, not just in Crested Butte but in Gunnison too. This winter, about 1/3 of the travelers who landed at the Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport, found their lodging in Gunnison.

The push to bring people to the Gunnison Valley has remained consistent in the winter and we're seeing those efforts payoff with continued sales and revenue growth. Our summer months however do not need the same amount of efforts. We have plenty of summer visitors flocking to the Gunnison Valley. In fact, the TA will not be actively marketing Gunnison and Crested Butte in July or the first two weeks of August when our towns are filled with summer visitors and busting at their seams. “Summer is off to a fast start. We can’t maintain the numbers we’re looking at [from DestiMetrics],” Norton said. For more information, read the entire Crested Butte News article Tourism Association Says Winter Grew, While Summer Season Cannot.

Photo Credit: Erin Croke-renfro