Denver entertained 9.7 million overnight visitors in 2003, down 4 percent from the record high 10.2 million visitors in 2002. The 4 percent decline in Denver numbers mirrored a four percent decline in overall visitor numbers to Colorado in 2003.

�The war, the sluggish economy and the national decrease in business travel combined to give Denver the first decline in pleasure visitors we�ve seen since 1999,� stated Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau President & CEO Richard Scharf. �However, Denver�s image as a travel destination continues to improve and the city was viewed as exceeding the national norm as a travel destination in many areas, including entertainment, pro sports events, live music, theatre, arts, nightlife, museums, art galleries, hotels, restaurants and recreation.

Business Travel Down

Denver business travelers saw the biggest decline, dropping 8 percent from 2.1 to 1.9 million overnight visitors, the lowest figure for Denver business travelers since 1995. Nationally, business travel was down six percent in 2003.

Denver pleasure travelers dropped from the record high of 8.1 million in 2002 to 7.8 million in 2003, a 4 percent decline.

Colorado�s pleasure visitors also dropped four percent, falling from 22.1 million in 2002 to 21.3 million in 2003.

Tourism spending in Denver matched the 4 percent decline in visitor numbers, dropping from a record of $2.4 billion in 2002 to $2.3 billion in 2003.

The figures were compiled by Longwoods International, one of the world�s most prominent tourism research firms, and are based on surveys of 200,000 U.S. households.

Fewer Friends and Business Travelers

Most of the drop in Denver visitors came from fewer people visiting friends and relatives and fewer business travelers. People visiting friends and relatives in Denver dropped from 5.1 million in 2002 to 4.9 million in 2003. The number of nights spent in Denver for pleasure travelers fell from 3.0 in 2002 to 2.8 in 2003.

The 8 percent drop in business travel was compounded by the fact that fewer business people extended their trip with a vacation. In 2002, one in three business travelers combined a vacation with their business trip; in 2003, this fell to one in five.

However, those business travelers who did come to Denver, stayed longer. The average business trip in Denver increased from 3.0 nights to 3.4 nights.

�When times are tough, people watch their money a little closer,� said Scharf. �We are seeing fewer business travelers and fewer business travelers taking a pre or post business vacation. There are fewer people visiting friends and relatives in Denver, and those that come are staying less time.�

However, Scharf cautions, the 4 percent drop should be kept in perspective. �Denver entertained 9.7 million overnight visitors in 2003 and they spent $2.3 billion in our area. This makes Denver�s tourism industry the exact same size as Colorado�s skiing industry in terms of economic importance to the state. The 7.8 million pleasure visitors who came to Denver in 2003 are a 14 percent increase over the 6.9 million pleasure visitors Denver had in 2000. Tourism has become a huge, important business for Denver. The expansion of the Colorado Convention Center and the new Hyatt hotel are only going to increase the importance of our industry in the future.�

Denver�s Tourism Image Continues to Improve

The good news in Longwoods was that Denver�s tourism image continued to improve and the city was viewed as exceeding the national norm as a travel destination in many areas, including entertainment, pro sports events, live music, theatre, arts, nightlife, museums, art galleries, hotels, restaurants and recreation.

Denver fell short of the national norm in offering uniqueness and in affordability and value for money. The distances necessary to travel to Denver and the associated costs were the most cited problems. 71 percent of business travelers come to Denver by air, nearly twice the national average of 39 percent. Forty percent of Denver�s pleasure visitors arrive by air, twice the national average of 21 percent. Forty-one percent of Denver�s pleasure visitors travel 1,000 miles or more to come to the city; nationally, only 23 percent of all travelers travel this distance on a pleasure trip.

Internet usage increasing

Use of the Internet in planning a Denver vacation continued to increase with prospective Denver visitors much more likely to use the Internet than the normal U.S. vacationer. Forty-two percent of Denver visitors used the Internet to plan their trip, versus only 29 percent for the U.S. norm. Internet usage among Denver visitors has increased dramatically, climbing from 30 percent in 2001, 33 percent in 2002 to 42 percent in 2003. Use of the Bureau�s Web site www.denver.org has also increased, doubling from being used by 7 percent of visitors in 2002 to 16 percent in 2003. ###

Jill Strunk Public Relations Manager Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau 1555 California St., Suite 300 Denver, CO 80202 Phone: 303.571.9451 Fax: 303.892.1636 jstrunk@dmcvb.org Web site: www.denver.org Celebrating our 95th Year of Promoting Denver, the Mile High City