View From Afar S2, E13: IPW 2026 | Colorado’s Timothy Wolfe on America 250, Colorado’s Big Birthday, and Tourism Done Right

Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Colorado Tourism Office director Timothy Wolfe sits down with Afar deputy editor Michelle Baran to talk about a state that’s been ahead of the curve on managing tourism, not just marketing it—and what that’s getting them.

Tim took the director role in 2021 after a long career in Colorado hospitality, including a run at the legendary Brown Palace Hotel in Denver. He arrived as the state was reckoning with the pandemic-era boom on its mountain towns, and made destination stewardship a centerpiece of the office’s work.

In 2024, Colorado welcomed 95.4 million visitors, and 2025 is tracking similarly. Tim is also a commissioner for Colorado’s 2026 celebration, which marks both America’s 250th anniversary and Colorado’s 150th year of statehood.

Transcript

Michelle Baran: I’m Michelle Baran, deputy editor at Afar, and welcome to View From Afar, a podcast that spotlights the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. And in this special series, I’m coming to you live from the floor of the annual travel conference organized by the U.S. Travel Association to share the best of America with the rest of the world. It’s a pivotal moment right now. The U.S. is preparing to cohost the FIFA World Cup and celebrate its 250th anniversary, even as international travel arrivals are down and global events are affecting travel across the world. But the reasons we travel haven’t changed. In fact, they’ve become more important than ever. Joy and connection. So we’re talking to industry leaders about how their destinations are pivoting in a tough world, how they’re giving travelers experiences to smile about and making visitors feel welcome.

My guest today is Tim Wolfe, director of the Colorado Tourism Office. Tim took the role in July 2021 after a long career in Colorado hospitality. In fact, he was even inducted into the Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association Hall of Fame in 2015. He came in at a moment when Colorado was reckoning with the impact of the pandemic era boom on its mountain towns and made destination stewardship a centerpiece of the office’s work. Tim is also a commissioner for Colorado’s 2026 celebration, marking both America’s 250th anniversary and Colorado’s 150th year of statehood. So the state is heading into a big year. We’ll talk about how Colorado is navigating this moment, what’s working, and what the rest of the country can learn from a state that’s been ahead of the curve on managing tourism, not just marketing it.

Alright. Well, welcome, Tim. Welcome to View From Afar. We’re so excited to have you.

Tim Wolfe: Happy to be here.

Michelle: So let’s start with some, um, taking it back to your years running the Brown Palace, a hotel in downtown Denver that’s hosted everyone from Eisenhower to the Beatles. What’s the best Brown Palace store you can actually tell on a podcast?

Tim: That I can actually tell.

Michelle: Exactly.

Tim: Yeah. So there’s a there’s a lot of great stories and a ton of history. There’s a couple of really cool, iconic things that happen every year. And one is the champagne cascade, which is two. They stack champagne glasses two stories high, about 5,200 of them. And then you get on a scissor lift and you have to pour into the top glass in front of about 1,000 people in the atrium.

Michelle: Oh, wow.

Tim: And it’s the kickoff of the holiday season. So it’s really pretty, an iconic event, but it’s one of those things that people are telling stories about all the time, passing it forward. And then the other is we have a Hereford steer that comes in for tea during high tea, and they used to do it with one steer, but they learned it’s better to have two to come in during high tea, and they are actually in the lobby of the Brown Palace Hotel during high tea in January as part of our Western Stock show.

Michelle: That’s so cool. And I have to ask, in terms of the champagne cascade, did it ever fall?

Tim: Great question. Knock on wood, no not yet. Because then that certainly would be a ton of press, right?

Michelle: Right. I was figuring everyone’s always holding their breath to see if it stands.

Tim: Oh that’s it, that’s it.

Michelle: So Colorado set a visitor record in 2024, welcoming 95.4 million people. Um, how did 2025 compare and how is 2026 shaping up so far?

Tim: You know, they’re all 2026 is a little bit too soon to tell. There’s a lot of give and takes. Uh, 2025 we think we still haven’t quite seen the numbers, but we think about the same or a little bit better. And so Colorado’s been fairly resilient to some of the headwinds that maybe some of the other destinations are having. So, um, so we’ve been pretty, pretty lucky. We’re open and welcoming to all. So we have Colorado Friendship Day with Canada, with Mexico. So we really court countries and our neighbors that truly are our neighbors. In fact, a lot of Mexicans actually have homes in Colorado. So we’ve actually seen growth in that market. And we haven’t, you know, in our northern neighbors have still been coming in in pretty solid numbers. So we’re looking we’re looking fairly well.

Michelle: So are you not seeing the softness from the international market that some of the other states and destinations are seeing?

Tim: We’re seeing we’re seeing a little bit, but not we’re way ahead of what everybody else is seeing. So and it gives, it ebbs and flows between the different countries.

Michelle: So why do you think that is? I mean, you mentioned these strong ties that you have with some of our neighbors. Do you think it’s important to have laid that foundation and that then when you kind of when we hit on harder times that you see that the international visitation remains strong, you know, why are you kind of bucking the trend in terms of international travelers?

Tim: Yeah, that’s a great question. I think part of it is, you know, our governor’s position opening and friendly to all. We have an amazing Denver airport that’s connecting to more than 35 international destinations and over 205 domestic destinations with direct flights. And we’re adding flights and we’re actually seeing no or change, in fact, increase in number of flights to different places in Canada. So, you know, we’ve worked on those relationships and partnerships around the world, and we think that Colorado is still a fantastic place to visit, you know, and people still want to escape and experience all the Colorado has to offer.

Michelle: And what about on the domestic front? Do you see Colorado primarily as a fly market, a drive market, both. I mean, you mentioned the airport, obviously great connectivity throughout the country, but I imagine it’s also a great road trip destination.

Tim: It is, but not as much as people think Uh, Colorado, where it’s situated, is a 14- to 20-hour drive from Kansas City. And that’s the closest hub. And then you have Salt Lake City, right? The other side. So we’re truly a fly in destination. We’ll get some road trips in there from Midwest. We get a lot of road trips from Texas and some from the South. But it truly is an intentional destination where you need to fly to get there. Yeah.

Michelle: And it’s interesting because I’ve also noticed, um, building up your rail infrastructure. So this idea that you could like fly in and then take a ski train or, you know, you don’t necessarily have to fly in and get in your car. And I think people think, especially out west, with the distances being so long that you’ve got to go rent that car so that you can move. But I love seeing this build up of the greener, you know, rail infrastructure. And maybe people haven’t necessarily thought of Colorado as a place where you can also jump on the train to get to some places from even sometimes just from the airport.

Tim: Yeah, it’s such a great point. Um, the Denver airport is now connected to Union Station via rail, right? Once you get to Union Station, you can take a Pegasus vehicle up to the mountains, check internet email, easy access for the international travel. But there’s also the Amtrak, the rail. There’s a Colorado ski train that goes to Winter Park, and we’re working on rail systems along the Front Range and also rail to the western side of the state as well. So there’s more to come on that on there. It’s it’s a journey. Yeah. And we’re excited to be on that journey. But there’s, like you said, all these kind of options where if you don’t want to drive, you don’t have to. Right. And we can show you how to do that.

Michelle: Right. I love that, I love to see that and kind of similarly, along the same lines, Colorado has been a national leader on destination stewardship, including the Do Colorado Right messaging campaign. Can you tell me a little bit more about that campaign and how you’re trying to redirect visitors away from some of the maybe more overstressed destinations towards smaller communities? And have you found that that actually works and what works there, what doesn’t in terms of that strategy.

Tim: Yeah. So our destination stewardship is extremely important. It’s about balancing the quality of life for our residents with the visitor experience. And that’s important to everybody, the visitor as well as the residents. And we do it in a number of different ways. But the Do Colorado Right campaign is not necessarily a campaign. It’s something that’s always moving forward, but it’s branded the same way. It’s basically suggesting or making ideas with a non finger wagging point of view. Hey, this is what you could do to do Colorado right. An example would be like we were talking about transportation. We partner with CDOT, the Colorado Department of Transportation, and do a do Colorado right. On terms of taking Pegasus, a wonderful vehicle with internet up to Breckenridge or anywhere in the mountains. And then they can get to public transportation in those mountains. So we do a do Colorado, right, with CDOT in the international market.

In Estes Park, we have a Estes Park, right? And it’s branded just like do Colorado, right? But what they do is timed entry for the national park. So we let people know, hey, this is when you can make reservations, be be advised, it is a reservations system so that that way people don’t get frustrated or in line for maybe something that they weren’t aware of. And so that campaign has many different options for people around the state. Another big one is fire safety or search and wildlife backcountry skiing know before you go on the hiking types of things. And we just see that working in so many different ways. And we really empower our tourism partners to use those. We have a Do Colorado Right Council or a group that vet ideas and then we, we go and we’re like, hey, that’s a great idea. Yeah, we’re going to shoot it. And then you can use it in your community or whatever it is, and we’ll co-brand it with you and we’ll go from there. So it’s it’s been tremendous.

Michelle: I think it’s really interesting with these sustainable tourism measures, how much it also benefits the tourism experience, you know, like you mentioned, timed entry and crowd control. You know, when you put these limits in place, it’s it’s better for everybody. You know, the actual visitor experience on the ground is better too, because you’re not dealing with the long lines and the overcrowding. So it’s just really nice to see when these measures are put into place, that it’s great for the local community as well as for the visitor experience. So, you know, it goes all ways. And so speaking of that dispersal, Domenic Bravo I spoke with as well, just stepped into the equivalent role in Wyoming and is co-chairing Destinations International’s advocacy committee around exactly this issue. As neighboring states with shared challenges, how and where are you collaborating?

Tim: Well, Domenic is going to be a great asset and, uh, an already a terrific neighbor. We worked together on the Western States Policy Council and worked with the national federal agencies in terms of what’s needed in our parks, how do we invest in our parks? We’re working together on the SHRED Act, which is a bipartisan bill that’s actually going to redirect funds that are collected by the government going into the general fund, back to the mountain communities. And we partner on a number of different things on the stewardship side, but also how do we market our areas. As Wyoming, and it goes, so does Colorado and vice versa. I mean, it’s the West. And when you look at it from an international perspective, Denver is a gateway city. So we definitely talk and we talk about what what works, what are they doing, and also some of the other southern states as well, the four corner states. So we we all work together to try to, to do what’s best for tourism, for experiences and share best practices.

Michelle: Right. And I’m thinking about, you know, some of these smaller communities and wanting to sort of grow tourism there responsibly, you know, not wanting them to suddenly be inundated or, you know, it feels like there’s an opportunity there to introduce people to lesser known destinations, but do so in a way that maybe doesn’t overwhelm or, you know, where you don’t over suddenly over develop a destination that that all its charm was that it was sort of smaller and didn’t have big hotels or so, you know, just interesting to see how you think about that and how you balance that, you know, the dispersal that we’re talking about and having people find these emerging destinations in your state without ruining what makes them so special. And I’m guessing you have this sort of communication with these destination of how to grow responsibly in that way..

Tim: Well, one of the biggest things that we have that a lot of other states don’t have yet, but we’re happy to share it with them, is we have a destination strategic stewardship plan. And that plan was done with thousands and thousands of residents’ input, and we did that by region across Colorado. So even the smallest cities in Colorado can take that plan and implement it. And it’s not just about dispersal, but it’s about creating experiences that are sustainable, that are wonderful for the community. That’s what the community wants to highlight. And so there’s common threads in different regions. And then we look at the common threads from the entire state. But we welcome people to take a look at that destination stewardship strategic plan, because we think that it’s the foundation for that 5- to 10-year growth strategy that that destination may want to have.

They’re all in different levels of the life cycle of tourism. Some are very entry. We just want revenues. Some are very mature, like Vail that actually has a hospital that will repair your knee if you break it on your ski. So, you know, you have these two different kinds of things. So but if you have that, that north star of what you want for the experience, and you can build it out the right way.

Michelle: Right, It’s great that you have that framework in place. So it’s a really exciting year. Colorado is celebrating both America 250 and the state’s 150th anniversary this year. You’re a commissioner for the 250/150 effort. How is Colorado approaching this moment differently than other states, and what does it mean for travelers who are thinking about visiting in the coming year?

Tim: Yeah, well, for us, it’s very different. It’s the sesquisemiquincentennial, right.

Michelle: Which I cannot say, so kudos to you.

Tim: It took me two years to be able to say it, and I still don’t know how to spell it. So, um, but it’s our 150th birthday. Yeah. So we’re definitely doing things a little bit different. Yeah. We’ve introduced the digital passport. Our sponsor, United Airlines is doing that with us. We’re we’re doing experiences around the state where you could get a digital stamp and you’re eligible for a $500 travel voucher with United or eligible for 150,000 United points. And so it’s encouraging our residents to travel to try these different experiences around Colorado.

We have a drone show. We have more than 150 of them for our 150th birthday. Yeah. And we’re partnering with Visit Denver that does their Mile High Holidays spectacular that has 40 drone shows each season. But then we have another 50 around the state that are themed with the history of Colorado, paired with the music of John Denver at different events around the state. So if you go to AM250CO150, you can see the schedule, but it’s an amazing schedule of experiences where you can see the story of Colorado and lights to the music, and those are also sponsored by some great sponsors to do that. So we’ve got a number of things going on.

Michelle: It’s going to be a fun year. So just lastly, what’s something happening in Colorado right now that’s genuinely making you optimistic? A piece of feel good news, an emerging destination, a small community that’s doing it right?

Tim: Yeah so there’s, there’s a couple of things that make us excited about the future. I mean, it’s that expansion of the rail line, front range and across the state. There’s the expansion of the Broncos and looking at doing a new stadium there and a redevelopment of of a portion of Denver, but also the building of the first ever dedicated stadium to women’s soccer, where the locker rooms will be designed for women, the for the referees, everything. And it’s going to be really a community resource and an asset that’s got great modal transportation options that people will be able to go to. So seeing some of these things that are coming to fruition, that also takes the stewardship but also accessibility into play.

Michelle: So perfect timing with soccer Fever this year to the women’s stadium. Timed that one perfectly. Well. Thank you so much for joining View from Afar. It was so great having you.

Tim: All right. Well thank you and appreciate everything you guys do.

Michelle: Yeah, absolutely.

Thanks for joining us for this episode of View From Afar. In the show notes, you’ll find links to everything we discussed today, as well as the Colorado Tourism Office’s website and social media handles and our recent coverage of Colorado. And be sure to follow along this week to hear more interviews with industry experts. You can find more Views from Afar on Afar.com, and be sure to follow us on Instagram and TikTok. We’re @AfarMedia. If you enjoyed today’s exploration, I hope you’ll come back for more great interviews. Subscribing always makes that easy, and be sure to rate and review the show on your favorite podcast platforms. It helps other travelers find it.

This has been View From Afar, a production of Afar Media. The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland, with assistance from Billie Cohen and me, Michelle Baran. Music composition from Epidemic Sound. This podcast is part of the Airwave Media Podcast Network. Visit AirwaveMedia.com to listen and subscribe to its other fine shows like Culture Kids and The Explorers podcast.