DIA Passenger Growth – Another Sign of Improving Economy

Denver International Airport had 52.8 million people pass through its gates in 2011. This represents a 1.7% increase over the 2010 total of 52.0 million passengers. It is also the fourth consecutive year for DIA to see more than 50 million travelers. These totals place DIA as the fifth busiest airport in the U.S. behind Atlanta, O’Hare,Los Angeles, and Dallas-Fort Worth.

While some carriers have decreased capacity, state and local officials continue to bring additional carriers to the area. Icelandair and Spirit will add flights to Denver in 2012.

This good news is another sign that the national and state economies are showing improvement.

 

©Copyright 2011 by CBER.

10 Years After 9/11 – Tourism Initially Hit Hard

Over the next six weeks this blog will look back 10 years at the change in the national and state economies. In particular, it will take a simplistic look at the possible impact that 9/11 may have had on Colorado’s Lost Decade.

There are analyses that suggest Osama bin Laden inflicted extended damage on the U.S. economy. These calculations show the direct and indirect costs of fighting two wars, tracking OBL and other al Qaeda for the past 10 years, and adopting increased security measures.

Others believe the long-term financial impact of 9/11 was minimal. These viewpoints suggest the 2001 recession was a normal part of the business cycle and the self-inflicted wounds from the financial and housing crises were far greater than the impact of 9/11.

The brief comments provided in this and subsequent blogs are not intended to prove or disprove these viewpoints. Rather, the intent is to show how different sectors of the Colorado economy reacted to 9/11, the financial crises, the housing bubble, and the 2001 and 2007 recessions.  In September this blogs will be summarized and compiled at CBER.co

We’ll begin the discussion by looking at the Leisure and Hospitality sectors.

Tourism was the industry that was initially hit the hardest by 9/11, more so in states such as Nevada than Colorado. Nevertheless, the impact in Colorado was felt immediately. In 2002 there was a drop off in DIA passengers, skier visits, and park visits. This was accompanied by an obvious decline in tourism-related employment.

Sector employment remained soft through 2004. Between 2005 and 2009 the number of leisure and hospitality workers has grown at a rate similar to total state employment. Although tourism employment was hit hard in the 2007 recession, it has since recovered at a faster rate than most other sectors.

On the other hand, employment in Colorado’s air transportation industry declined over the past decade. The sharpest part of the decline coincided with 9/11. A series of industry issues (consolidation, competition, increased productivity, pricing wars, etc.) were exacerbated by the unexpected decline in business. Despite a decline in air transportation employment, the number of passengers at DIA increased from about 39 million in 2000 to more than 51 million in 2010.

©Copyright 2011 by CBER.

Increased DIA Traffic Bodes Well for Economy

Amidst all of the bad economic news, there is a ray of hope from the transportation sector. Year-to-date passenger traffic at DIA, through July 2010, is stronger than last year. About 30.2 million passengers have passed through airport gates this year, or about 779,710 more than in 2009. This represents a healthy increase of 2.6%. This is a good sign because it means more people from around the world are traveling for business and personal reasons.

Typically, the DIA’s peak load occurs in July. The total number of passengers for July 2010 was 5,060,508. Despite the year-to-date increase, the monthly total for July is slightly off the pace of 5,109,342 for 2009.

The 2010 YTD passenger total is slightly below the same period for 2008. If this level of activity continues, approximately 51 million passengers will travel through DIA in 2010.

©Copyright 2011 by CBER.