STATESIDE | DENVER
Sunny Outlook Denver rebounds with tourism upgrades and expansions underway. BY BRANDON SCHULTZ In the Works: Conceptual aerial view of the Colorado Convention Center expansion, looking southeast PHOTO: © THOMPSON, VENTULETT, STAINBACK & ASSOCIATES, INC. (TVSDESIGN)
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he Denver population grew 20 percent over the last decade, and its ever-increasing intrigue brings in more than 13 million additional visitors each year. From Red Rocks to the Denver Beer Trail, with world-class art, bountiful nature and an explosive marijuana tourism industry in between, the reasons to visit Colorado’s capital diversify as rapidly as its population itself, and the city spends billions to accommodate the growing interest. Richard W. Scharf, president and CEO, Visit Denver, sees the city’s enormous self-investment as a symbol of Denver’s pandemic recovery. “The tourism and convention industries are among the largest industries in Denver, and they are currently rebounding in a big way,” he said, adding, “Our leisure visitors have returned to a pre-pandemic level.”
globaltravelerusa.com AUGUST 2022
Like most major cities, Denver has plenty of development underway aimed at mixed-use spaces, from the 13-story Populus coming to Downtown to the 25-year, multimillion-square-foot reimagining of The River Mile. Both the hotel and arts industries keep pace, but the upgrades to tourism basics may prove to have the greatest impact on the city. Scharf expresses optimism the “massive redesign and expansion of Denver International Airport and a major expansion of the Colorado Convention Center, on track to be completed in late 2023, will only add to the comeback story,” and there’s little reason to doubt him. Denver International Airport already ranks as the third-busiest in the world, not far behind second-place Dallas/ Fort Worth. DEN’s current concourse expansion plan holds a $1.5 billion price tag and will add 39 gates to all three of its concourses, some of which already opened. An additional $2.4 billion is headed toward other airport upgrades, including restroom refreshes and vastly expanded security facilities as the airport gears up for an estimated 100 million annual arrivals within 10 years. As for Colorado Convention Center, which you may recognize by the enormous and wildly popular blue bear peering in from the
