Colorado residents big spenders when it comes to outdoor recreation
State’s mountain-resort residents spend the third highest out of 435 districts nationwide
The Denver Post
Anna Stonehouse/The Aspen Times
Little ol’ Colorado isn’t so little when it comes to how much people spend on outdoor recreation.
In a report released Tuesday by the Outdoor Industry Association, residents in each of the seven Colorado congressional districts spent $2 billion or more on outdoor recreation — a three-comma club reached by just 27 out of 435 districts nationwide.
And the state’s 2nd congressional district — which includes Boulder, Vail, Breckenridge, and many of the top ski areas in the state — ranked third nationwide for spending per district at $2.51 billion. And that doesn’t count out-of-state visitors, who spent an estimated $12.8 billion in that same region.
“Colorado has one of the strongest outdoor recreation economies of any state in the nation,” said Amy Roberts, OIA executive director, in an email. “With the release of today’s congressional district reports, we now have evidence that outdoor recreation is a massive and powerful economic driver in Colorado’s local communities as well.”
