DENVER—In 2025, the “Mile High City” welcomed 37.6 million domestic visitors and generated $10.5 billion in tourism spending—both of which represent records for the city, slightly eclipsing the previous records. Visit Denver, the City of Denver’s official tourism sales and marketing agency, shared the news based on data from Longwoods International.
Longwoods International provided the Denver visitor data through its annual visitor profile study, which it has conducted for Denver since 1993. Top tourism destinations from around the country and across the world rely on Longwoods’ research and peer-reviewed methodology to provide standardized visitor tracking tools.
According to the study, Denver’s overnight visitors in 2025 totaled 20.1 million, generating $8.7 billion in spending, both of which represent slight increases over 2024. Overnight leisure visitors hit a new record of 17.9 million, a particular bright spot, increasing 3% over 2024 and reinforcing Denver’s destination appeal.
“Tourism is vital to the Denver economy, and last year was strong, with record-setting attendance at the Colorado Convention Center, the opening of the new 16th Street, a packed event calendar, and so much more. We are pleased to see 2025 numbers slightly elevated over 2024 and that tourism growth in Denver was in line with national averages,” said Richard W. Scharf, president and CEO of Visit Denver. “We are proud that Denver had such a solid showing despite last year’s economic headwinds and in spite of certain visitor segments, particularly the overnight business traveler, that have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. We are equally proud that the tourism industry supported 73,200 jobs across the metro area last year and generated millions in state and local taxes. Tourism saved each Denver household nearly $1,850 in taxes last year.”
As the study reveals, Denver remains a year-round destination, with overnight visitation spread evenly throughout the year, with a slight preference for summer. Denver saw 22% of visitors in Q1, 27% in Q2, 28% in Q3, and 24% in Q4 (figures may exceed 100% due to rounding). The data suggests travelers from across the country are visiting in higher numbers, with 82% of leisure visitors coming from out of state, a 7% increase over 2024.
The data further shows how crucial Denver International Airport and its air service are for continued strong Denver tourism trends. In 2025, 42% of overnight Denver visitors arrived by plane, compared to the national average of just 28%. The airport, as well as Visit Denver’s partnership with the Colorado Tourism Office, are key to Denver’s position as both a destination and a gateway to the rest of the state, with overnight Denver visitors spending an average of 2.8 nights, or nearly 70% of their trip, in Denver, and the remainder in other parts of the Centennial State.
A separate ROI study from Longwoods International showed specific, measurable results from Visit Denver’s 2025 spring/summer targeted advertising campaign, the organization’s largest campaign of the year. The ROI study showed the campaign was directly responsible for:
- 6 million incremental trips
- $1.6 billion in incremental spending
- $180 million in incremental state and local taxes, including nearly $134 million in taxes for Denver alone
- Combined, these results account for an ROI of $219 in incremental spending and $25 in incremental taxes for each $1 spent in advertising
Key data from the 2025 Visitor Study includes:
- Denver welcomed a record 37.6 million visitors in 2025: 20.1 million overnight visitors and 17.6 million day visitors
- Overnight leisure visitors totaled a record 17.9 million in 2025. That includes a record 9.7 million “marketable” visitors, those most responsive to Visit Denver’s marketing and advertising. This figure represents a 12% increase over 2024
- Denver visitors spent a record $10.5 billion in 2025, including nearly $8.8 billion from overnight visitors and an additional $1.7 billion in spending from day visitors
The top four states originating overnight trips to Denver in 2025, outside of Colorado, were: California, Texas, Illinois, and Florida. The top five cities from outside of Colorado sending overnight visitors to Denver in 2025 were: Los Angeles, New York, Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, and Houston. (Note: All are Visit Denver advertising markets.)
