COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—Visit Colorado Springs is celebrating the findings of its latest tourism study, which shows visitation and visitor spending both increased in 2025. According to the 2025 Longwoods International Travel USA Visitor Profile Study, Colorado Springs visitation increased by 0.3% and spending by 0.4%, compared to 2024 figures. Total visitation was 25.6 million, and visitor spending was $3.1 billion, which both surpassed 2024’s record numbers.
“We’re pleased to see our visitation and visitor spending numbers have increased slightly year over year,” said Doug Price, president & CEO of Visit Colorado Springs (COS). “2025 was an unpredictable year with factors including rising costs, unstable political climate, government shutdown, and decreased international visitation to the U.S. To see our visitation stay on par with our record 2024 numbers is a huge testament to the strength of our local tourism industry and community.”
Some key findings from the 2025 Longwoods data for the Pikes Peak Region include:
- 2M overnight visitors, a 1.6% increase over 2024. This increase is on track with the destination goal to attract more overnight visitors who contribute more to the local economy than day visitors.
- Overnight visitors spent more on food/beverage, retail, and recreation/entertainment in 2025 than they did in 2024 (all of these categories were up by 3%-5% from 2024).
- 26% of overnight visitors traveled with their pets, indicating that pet-friendly accommodations and activities are likely of interest.
- 24% of overnight visitors traveled alone, indicating that more solo travel support information could be of interest.
- 23% of overnight visitors had a member of their travel party who required accessibility services (5% above the U.S. norm). Of these visitors, 55% had a mobility disability, 38% visual, 32% cognitive, 22% hearing and 8% other.
- 24% of overnight visitors participated in business activities during their trip.
- 30% of overnight visitors marked their main purpose of trip as visiting family and friends (down from 33% in 2024); 17% marked their main purpose as “outdoors,” up from 14% in 2024; and 17% marked their main purpose as “touring,” up from 15% in 2024.
- Overall, 63% of visitation to the Pikes Peak Region is considered “marketable,” meaning those visitors are likely to be influenced by marketing efforts.
- Average length of stay for overnight visitors was 2.6 nights (down from 2.7 nights in 2024).
- The most popular types of overnight travelers were:
- 18% budget-friendly traveler
- 16% outdoors/adventure seekers
- 13% family traveler with kids
- 11% cultural heritage/history seeker
- 10% luxury traveler
“From the 2025 findings, we were glad to see how a quarter of our visitors to the region are interested in the topics of pet-friendly travel, solo travel, accessible travel, and business-related travel,” said Alexea Veneracion, director of communications for Visit COS. “We’re working on more content and campaigns for these groups. They are huge target audiences for us and likely to be visitors who will plan longer stays and drive more economic impact for the region.”
The Longwoods Travel USA Visitor Profile survey helps the organization better understand domestic visitors to Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak Region. The results reveal travel and behavior trends over time and help the team track performance against goals in the Destination Master Plan. The information also improves the organization’s understanding of how the destination compares to U.S. norms. Visit COS uses the information to make informed marketing, advertising, and organizational decisions for future promotional campaigns as well as communication and advocacy efforts.
