TORONTO — Made-in-Colorado hospitality mixed with Toronto’s snowy weather created a fine brew for the state’s trade mission stop at Steam Whistle Brewing.
More than half a dozen partners of the Colorado Tourism Office showcased their destinations last night at an event at the brewery’s Tap Room.
Early this morning the group headed for Vancouver for the trade mission’s second industry event.
Travelweek caught up with the Colorado destination reps ahead of last night’s event. Read on for the latest updates …
DENVER
Denver’s proximity to the Rocky Mountains offers year-round outdoor opportunities. “Think of Denver as an urban city at the base of the Rocky Mountains,” says Visit Denver’s Director of PR & Communications, Taylor Shields.
The Winter Park Express Ski Train offers an easy way to hit the slopes, she adds. The Amtrak train runs from Denver Union Station to Winter Park Ski Resort, Thursdays through Mondays until March 31. Fares starting at US$19.

Union Station Denver, Colorado
Denver’s arts and culture scene meanwhile offers a packed calendar of events and festivals for 2025. Highlights include the return of the Outside Festival and long-time favourites like the Denver March Powwow, Dragon Boat Festival and Denver PrideFest. “We have a festival every single weekend,” says Shields.
She notes that while 2024 was all about Denver’s new hotels, 2025 “is our year of sports.”
Sports tourism continues to grow in leaps and bounds and Denver is home to several pro sports teams including the NFL’s Denver Broncos, the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, MLB’s Colorado Rockies and the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche.
Denver’s high profile for sports tourism dovetails perfectly with the city’s lifestyle: “We’re not just going to see the sports, we’re doing the sports too, Denver is a very active city,” says Shields.
The Canadian market to Denver continues to grow, she adds. “You can even come for a weekend, it’s not a long flight. Canada is really important to us.”
The world-famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre draws visitors the world over to the Denver area. The visually striking, naturally-formed outdoor venue hosts concerts, comedians, and more. Sting and Sheryl Crow are just two of many acts booked for 2025. “Visitors including Canadians are building whole trips around Red Rocks,” says Shields.
For travel advisors looking to plan trips for clients, Denver’s three-day itinerary highlights top attractions and day trips. Free planning assistance for agents is available by emailing Tourism@visitdenver.com.
DURANGO
The authentic Old West city of Durango is in Colorado’s southwest, “right in the heart of the San Juan Mountains,” says Rachel Welsh, PR & Communications Manager for Visit Durango.
Well-preserved architecture (and iconic landmarks like the Strater Hotel and General Palmer Hotel) from the late 1800s underline the city’s reputation as a showcase for the Wild West.
One must-do is the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (D&SNGR), a historic steam-powered locomotive that takes visitors on a scenic ride through the San Juans, past waterfalls, and along the Animas River.

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
The Durango Hot Springs Resort & Spa offers a luxury experience with 40 water features, including 32 mineral pools, cold plunge pools and a 25-metre swimming pool.
Durango’s proximity to Mesa Verde National Park offers visitors a chance to explore ancient cliff dwellings. Outdoor enthusiasts in Durango also find their way to class 5 whitewater rafting and serene river floats on the Animas River, and Durango’s 300+ miles of mountain trails for hiking and mountain biking.
ALAMOSA
Alamosa serves as the gateway to the Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve, home to towering sand dunes – the tallest in North America. Visitors can try their hand at sand boarding, or opt for a Jeep tour.

Great Sand Dunes, Colorado
The city is also home to accommodation options ranging from traditional hotels to glamping. No matter where visitors stay, they’ll want to look up – way up – as Alamosa recently earned the prestigious Colorado Adventure Dark Sky designation, thanks to its incredible stargazing.
Just 20 minutes from the New Mexico state line, Alamosa’s off-the-beaten-path charm includes a strong Hispanic heritage. “We have a great food scene with authentic Mexican influence,” says Beth Sumner, Director of Destination Development & PR for Visit Alamosa.
ROCKY MOUNTAINEER
Rocky Mountaineer has added eight extra departures for its Rockies to the Red Rocks route in 2025. The extra departures run April 9 – Nov. 18.
Dallas Carlson, Communications Specialist with Rocky Mountaineer, shares that very positive passenger feedback about Glenwood Springs, CO prompted the rail company to add options for longer stays in the pretty mountain town, home to the Yampah Mineral Baths.

Red Rocks Amphitheater
The two new packages are the Glenwood Springs Getaway Return Journey and the Glenwood Springs Return Journey, available June, July and August 2025.
Carlson notes that while Rocky Mountaineer has been operating in Canada for 35 years, the company only just started its U.S. routes in 2021.
“We’ve seen great uptick on our American routes,” Carlson tells Travelweek. Of course, she adds, “the Canadian routes had a big head start.”
SNOWMASS
Snowmass Village is home to skiing, biking, restaurants, spas, shops and year-round events, and offers a ‘not too big, not too small’ vacation experience just 12 kilometres from Aspen. Aspen Snowmass resort includes the towns of Snowmass Village and Aspen, as well as four ski mountains: Aspen Mountain, Buttermilk, Highlands and Snowmass.

Snowmass Village, Colorado
“Snowmass is shaped on a U, so everything is ski in, ski out,” says Sara Stookey Sanchez, PR Manager, Snowmass.
She adds that Snowmass is a multi-season destination, bookending its incredible ski and snowboarding offering in the winter with summer pursuits from mid-June to early October.
FORT COLLINS
The charming university town of Fort Collins, home to Colorado State University, is just about an hour’s drive from Denver. That means lots of day trip possibilities, says Abby Davidson, Partnership Manager with Visit Fort Collins.

Downtown Fort Collins, Colorado
If visitors here think some buildings look familiar, it’s with good reason: Harper Goff, who grew up in Fort Collins, went on to help design Disneyland’s Main Street USA with Walt Disney, and drew inspiration from many Fort Collins buildings for that famous street.
Davidson says Fort Collins is a great itinerary add-on: “It offers big city amenities with a small town feel. It’s a hidden gem, and once you find it, it’s hard to leave.”
The culinary scene is big here as well, with plenty of farm-to-table options. The Fort Collins Museum of Discovery is another favourite.
Fort Collins is also well-located for visiting big-draw national parks like Yellowstone National Park and Rocky Mountain National Park.
“That’s our biggest perk for the trade, our proximity to the national parks,” says Davidson.
COLORADO TOURISM OFFICE
Colorado welcomed 6% more Canadians in 2023 than in 2019, putting this market well ahead of pre-pandemic numbers.
“We’ve definitely seen recovery from Canada and we hope to see more of the same” for 2025, says Andrea Blankenship, Deputy Director, International Sales, Colorado Office of Tourism.
Colorado offers 300+ days of sunshine annually, she adds. And the state is very much a fan of sustainable tourism, complete with a destination stewardship plan. “We want our tourists to have a good experience, and for our residents to feel comfortable too,” says Blankenship, pointing to the state’s ‘Do Colorado Right’ campaign.
Lift is good, she added, with flights on airlines including Air Canada and WestJet, as well as United. Many Canadian destinations have flights to Colorado, including Calgary, Edmonton, Regina (effective May 2025), Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.
Denver International Airport (DEN) is now the third busiest airport in the U.S., and the sixth busiest in the world, by passenger traffic. DEN served over 82 million passengers in 2024 – a record for the airport. Passenger traffic between DEN and Canada grew by 10% in 2024.
Colorado’s trade mission in Toronto included (back row, left to right): Mixologist Nicole Lebedevitch from The Culinary Creative Group in Denver; Amanda Vagners, Air Canada; Sana Keller, Colorado Tourism Canadian PR Representative; Dallas Carlson, Rocky Mountaineer; Abby Davidson, Fort Collins; Sara Stookey Sanchez, Snowmass; Taylor Shields, Visit Denver; Andrea Thorsted, Denver International Airport; Beth Sumner, Visit Alamosa; Rachel Welsh, Visit Durango and (front row) Julie Dufault- International Promotions Manager, Colorado Tourism Office, Andrea Blankeship- Director of International Tourism, Colorado Tourism Office, Annika Klint, Colorado Tourism Canada Representative