Visitors to the Colorado Welcome Center in Cortez have inched up slightly up this year, but tourism at Mesa Verde National Park continued to decline.
For the first half of 2013, the welcome center saw 23,501 visitors, up about 5 percent from the previous year. More than 6,500 travelers visited the center in July.
Tourists at Mesa Verde National Park, however, have steadily declined. Through June, the park welcomed 831 fewer guests than the first half of 2012.
Nearly a half-million visited the park in 2012, a drop of approximately 15 percent from 2011.
Lodging taxes collected by the City of Cortez have risen slightly, up 6 percent over last year to nearly $77,000.
The city collected more than $23,600 in June alone.
Lodging throughout Montezuma County, however, appears to be weakening. Not only did recent quarterly tax collections fall by 2 percent, but overall tax collections also dropped nearly 20 percent in 2012 from the previous year.
The Anasazi Heritage Center outside of Dolores has also seen a slight increase in visitors through the first half of the year, up 2 percent over last year to more than 13,000.
