Despite Colorado Springs hotel occupancy dipping slightly in December, the month capped a year of “strong tourism” for 2022, Doug Price, president and CEO of Visit Colorado Springs, says.

December’s occupancy rate of 49.1% was down 5.2% from the year prior, according to the Rocky Mountain Lodging Report.

“December was somewhat impacted by the winter storms that prevented much of the holiday travel that we would typically see at the end of the year,” Price wrote in an email.

December also posed some travel challenges as Southwest’s linear travel model faced a meltdown after adverse weather began delaying flights for the key Colorado Springs Airport carrier.

In addition to December, May, June and July saw a decrease in hotel occupancy compared to 2021.

“We know in May, June and July there were lower travel numbers due to gas prices and inflation,” Price wrote. “We typically have a large summer drive market, so the high gas prices did have a slight impact on visitation.”

But overall, the lodging report showed that Colorado Springs hotel occupancy in 2022 increased to 67.1% from 64.1% in 2021.

“A major improvement from 2021 to 2022 were the amount of events, festivals and meetings that came back,” Price said. “Events like Labor Day Lift Off and the Space Symposium were bigger than they’ve ever been and drew great visitation and economic impact.”

Even though 2022 showed improvement in hotel occupancy, Price wrote that Colorado Springs was still behind when it came to international visitors.

“There is still a gap that hasn’t come back yet to the same extent, which is international visitation,” Price wrote. “Most travel restrictions from the pandemic have been lifted across countries, but there are several challenges with recovery from the international market that remain.”

Price anticipated those challenges will dissipate in 2023 and noted that U.S. travel experts expected to see a full recovery to be made by 2025.

Lodgers and Automobile Rental Tax (LART), a tax added to hotel stays and car rentals, typically borne by tourists and visitors in the region used to “enhance the economy of the City and the Pikes Peak Region,” increased in 2022 from 2021, Price wrote.

LART collections from January through November 2022 were over $1 million higher than in the same period in 2021, city sales tax reports show.

Average daily rates for Colorado Springs hotels were up 1.3% in December and were higher almost every month of 2022 except August.

Exact visitation and spending numbers will not be available until Longwoods International, a research consultant that provides data about tourism, releases its annual report this summer, Price wrote.

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