It costs more to get here than most other places, but that doesn’t seem to be stopping anyone.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, fuel prices across the state are up nearly $1 from a year ago, with drivers paying just over $4 a gallon natiowide and $4.38 at Society Turn. But people still flocked here in June, to Bluegrass and to Wine and to Jazz and to bike through town. According to advance bookings, most of the coming months show no sign of slowing down, either.

June was a boon for the region; two large bicycle tours — Ride the Rockies and the Bicycle Tour of Colorado — both vaulted visitor numbers, as well as the rescheduling of the Jazz Festival to early in the summer. All told, Telluride Tourism Board CEO Scott McQuade said this past June saw a 12 percent increase in room nights over last year.
The two bike tours brought close to 6,000 cyclists to town, and filled every room, McQuade said. “It was the month of the bicycle.”

It’s the myriad festivals that McQuade credits for keeping Telluride’s visitor numbers strong. “What’s really telling is the impact that festivals and events are having on our economy,” he said. “It’s great that we have festivals that give people reason to come to Telluride.”

The towns of Telluride and Mountain Village have yet to release their sales tax figures for that month, but Telluride Finance Director Lynne Beck said May, the month that beckons the summer season in with the Mountainfilm festival, was 5 percent ahead of the past year.

“We’re still looking good, and it looks like there are a lot of people in town…” Beck said.
“Summer’s been awesome,” said Shawn Merie Parent, owner of the Brown Bag. She credited the move of the Jazz Festival as a reason for the strong sales.

The picture changes slightly in July. According to the Tourism Board, that month is 800 reserved nights down from last year.

Last summer, Full Tilt in Telluride, a weekend-long bike race, filled the Mountain Village core with hungry and thirsty bikers and a 10-day Ayn Rand conference brought a slew of Objectivists to town.

The bike race was cancelled this year, and the conference isn’t back, either. “That is one of the months that is dragging here,” McQuade said.

Further down the line, the clouds part again. The Telluride Film Festival drives August to high visitor numbers year in and out. This August McQuade said there are 1,500 more room bookings more than the last.

Well into winter the rising trend continues; October and December are both pacing ahead of last year, McQuade said.