State officials stayed local when picking the new head of the Colorado Tourism Office.

Timothy Wolfe has led some of the biggest names in Colorado hospitality properties, including Denver’s storied Brown Palace and The Antlers in Colorado Springs.

Colorado’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade announced Wolfe’s appointment Tuesday after a three-month search for a replacement after former longtime director Cathy Ritter abruptly left the position in April. Deputy Director Jill Corbin served as the interim director.

Wolfe starts Aug. 23.

Longtime, popular head of Colorado Tourism Office out

“Tim is a proven leader with exceptional industry experience, market knowledge and an outstanding record of management success,” said the economic development office’s Executive Director Pat Meyers in a statement.

“As Colorado’s tourism industry continues its economic recovery, Tim’s hospitality and event experience will be invaluable in delivering a strong recovery for our urban centers and his understanding of Colorado’s local values is critical to effectively serving the diverse needs of our rural destinations across the state. His experience is tailored for this moment.”

Wolfe has been working as a self-employed consultant since January. Before that, he was the general manager for the historic, 241-room Brown Palace in downtown Denver and its sister property Holiday Inn Express Denver Downtown with 231 rooms.

He served as the general manager for The Antlers, now a Wyndham Hotel, from 2011 to 2014 when it was part of the Pyramid Hotel Group.

He’s also been the chairman of the Colorado Hotel Lodging Association and has served on the Colorado Tourism Office board as well as its chairman. In 2015, he was voted to the association’s Hall of Fame.

“I am honored to lead Colorado’s tourism office at such a critical time for our industry,” Wolfe said in a statement. “The CTO team and our industry partners face the challenge of responsibly evolving to meet the tourism industry’s changing needs while protecting what makes Colorado so special. Together, we can meet that challenge while delivering an economic recovery for a reimagined tourism industry.”

Before the pandemic shut down all travel and devastated the tourism industry in 2020, Colorado had posted a record 86.9 million visitors, up 2% from the previous year.

Those visitors spent $2.4 billion that year, up 7.3% year-over-year. That was well above the national average increase of 4.3%, according to the tourism office.