Marijuana legalisation in Colorado and Washington has been shown to increase tourism according to the Hotels.com Hotel Price Index. For the second year in a row, Denver is expected to see heightened travel interest, especially around some organised marijuana events and festivals this month, and searches for Seattle and Portland have surged as well.
In 2014, Denver saw a 73% year-over-year increase in hotel searches for check-ins during the April 20th weekend which featured a number of organised marijuana events and music festivals,and searches for check-ins during April 17-20 this year have surged yet again, rising over 60% over the same time frame last year.
Searches for Seattle and Portland have also surged according the Hotels.com data and similarly, the state of Washington has seen an increase in travel interest since the recreational sale of marijuana was legalized in July of 2014.
Seattle, which remains the 18th most popular domestic destination on the HPI, experienced a 61% boost in searches in the second half of 2014 after the law was in effect.
Oregon’s legalisation to be in effect by July
While Oregon’s legislation won’t go into effect until July 1, 2015, the state has already seen a 25% rise in searches for stays during the first 90 days the law is in effect. Travel interest in Portland has also increased during this period, reflecting a 64% rise in searches.
Denver also experienced an overall boost in popularity in 2014 when it became the 14th most popular domestic destination for Americans, according to Hotels.com. The upward trend was seen across the state of Colorado with searches for the entirety of 2014 showing a 51% increase over 2013.
For more information go to the Hotels.com Hotel Price Index.
