Telluride tourism staff reports Mexico City marketing mission, unveils winter campaign and mixed lodging trends

Telluride Tourism Board staff presented international marketing activity, a winter advertising plan and lodging metrics at the San Miguel County lodging-tax panel work session on Oct. 1.

Kiara, identified in the session as tourism-board staff, said she and a colleague returned from a two-day Mexico City travel-trade and media mission funded by a Colorado Tourism Office (CTO) marketing-matching grant. "Our main messaging was that Telluride, Mountain Village, the county, our destination loves Mexico. We are inviting our friends in Mexico to visit with us with open arms," Kiara said, describing outreach to travel agents and media in Mexico City. The tourism board also ran a digital-and-print advertising campaign there and secured editorial placements, she said.

Kiara previewed a winter advertising campaign under the board's "Beyond It All" creative theme. The board reported that its summer campaign delivered more than 17 million impressions and a click-through rate of 1.17%, which Kiara said exceeded last year's performance and industry benchmarks. She said the winter campaign will launch earlier than in some previous years and will include placement in publications such as CondTraveler's Reader's Choice issue and targeted digital buys.

On lodging performance, Kiara summarized mixed trends for the destination: total occupancy for the summer season was roughly flat year over year, paid occupancy was up about 1%, average daily rate (ADR) decreased about 2%, and revenue per available room (RevPAR) decreased about 2%. Monthly detail she presented showed May down about 8%, June roughly flat, July down about 4%, August up about 3% and September pacing 1% ahead. Kiara attributed variability in part to changes in remittance reporting (quarterly/annual remitters) and to a substantial adjustment to collections in the prior year that complicates year-over-year comparisons.

Special events materially affected local metrics. Kiara said the Camp Alderweil (EDM) weekend produced an 18% increase in total occupancy and a 25% increase in paid occupancy compared with the same weekend in 2024; ADR for that weekend was down about 5% while RevPAR rose about 19% because of the occupancy gain. By contrast, Kiara said the Bluegrass event performed roughly flat year over year but noted other festival and venue variances.

The tourism staff also reviewed winter pacing: Kiara said the destination was "pacing ahead" on occupancy (single-digit percentage) but that ADR was pacing behind by mid-single digits, producing a modest RevPAR decrease in the tourism board's winter forecast. She cautioned that pacing figures change frequently and that last-minute group bookings, marketing by larger ski-resort competitors, weather and snow conditions can alter outcomes.

Panel members asked about ski-resort operations and access. Kiara said she had received a press release indicating increased snowmaking capacity and that the resort was planning for a Thanksgiving opening, but she recommended directing operational questions to the resort's operations staff.

Kiara and other presenters cited an industry forecast that U.S. overseas travel year-to-date was down 1.6% and included a projected 8.2% decline for calendar year 2025 in international travel, with much of that pressure coming from Canada, a market the board said is not a major source for Telluride.

Kiara wrapped with media and collateral updates: a 2026 photo calendar on sale to benefit a trails program and a winter visitor guide slated for distribution at Thanksgiving.

Panel members thanked tourism staff for the detailed report and said the materials will be attached to the November agenda for formal review and any necessary action.