Locals Corner
Our locals are the cornerstone of what we do here at Visit Colorado Springs. No, really – it’s our business owners, frontline industry workers, community leaders and the community at-large that give our visitors a reason to come here. Together, we’re building a place people want to visit, live, work and play. It’s all part of fostering a strong economy with great jobs and a quality of life you can’t find anywhere else.
Just like we welcome visitors here, we also welcome the residents of the Pikes Peak Region to leverage our resources and engage in the conversation. Recently, we distributed a survey to gauge how our community feels about tourism – its benefits, challenges and overall impact. Here’s a summary of what you had to say, alongside some additional information.
You like what tourism does to support revenue for the city, drive traffic to local businesses and enhance economic vitality.
We do too! Estimates show that up to 50% of the City of Colorado Springs’ sales tax revenue can be attributed to tourism. Plus, tourism/hospitality is the third-largest employer by industry in the region, supporting about 40,000 jobs. Learn more here.
You aren’t super familiar with the local Tourist Tax and how it stacks up on a national level.
Honestly, many of us weren’t either until we started working in the industry. Our city’s Lodgers and Automobile Rental Tax (LART) is our Tourist Tax – it's paid by people who stay at hotels and rent cars. Right now, our lodging tax is 2% and the rental car tax is 1%, which is among the lowest in the country. It ranks #142 of the top 150 urban centers’ hotel taxes. This means visitors don’t currently pay much in taxes on their stay, which leaves a lot of room for future growth and more economic impact for our region.
You see some negative impacts of tourism like overcrowding and traffic.
We hear you, and we’re continually working on this. Our attractions and outdoor spaces can get overcrowded at certain times of the year and day. Through our marketing and advertising efforts, we are making progress in spreading out visitation across all seasons. Right now, most visitors (30% of them) visit from July-September and the least (21% of them) visit January-March. Our goal is to flatten that curve even further. All of us who live here know how awesome it is to hike, explore and adventure in the gorgeous winter months. In terms of traffic, well, that’s not our area of expertise. But the City of Colorado Springs is making improvements through programs like 2C that was voted on for road repairs and maintenance through 2035.
When you build a place people want to visit, you build a place people want to live, work and open businesses.
You recognize there is opportunity for tourism to support a better quality of life in the region with more access to things to do.
We have a little saying in the industry that goes something like this: “When you build a place people want to visit, you build a place people want to live, work and build businesses.” New venues like Ford Amphitheater and Weidner Field also draw more events to town that visitors and locals alike get to benefit from. A bit part of improving quality of life and access for all includes better accessibility accommodations. We have an Accessibility Task Force where community leaders gather quarterly to discuss infrastructure and program upgrades to enhance the overall accessibility of our region. You can find our accessibility hub here.
You think tourism could contribute negatively to our parks, trails and open spaces – and you see the opportunity for us to educate our visitors to help combat these effects.
We agree. We strive to be leaders in destination stewardship for the Pikes Peak Region. This means educating both visitors and locals on Leave No Trace principles, participating in the state’s Care for Colorado Coalition and meeting quarterly with our own Pikes Peak Destination Stewardship group. We’re in the process of creating a new resource for VisitCOS.com that provides clearer information about being good stewards of our land and resources. It also helps when locals like you spread the word about Leave No Trace when your friends and family come to town!
You want to see more celebration of arts/culture, improved transportation options and more resident appreciation.
We will take this feedback and incorporate it into our strategy and community conversations. Right now, we partner with PeakRadar.com (powered by the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region) to pull in cultural events across the region onto our website. We also collaborate with them on an arts/culture advertising campaign every year. There is still a lot of room for improvement when it comes to transportation in the area. One recent addition was the Zeb, a free Downtown shuttle operated by Mountain Metropolitan Transit, and new routes are in the works. We’re also encouraging our partners to offer more frequent deals/discounts for locals only to make attractions, hotels and restaurants more accessible to residents. You can find current locals-only deals on this page below!
Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their thoughts, concerns and suggestions in our survey. You can review the full survey findings here.
Locals-Only Deals
We want you to enjoy the best parts of Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak Region – and snag a deal as someone who helps make this place so great. Here are some current locals-only offers!
