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Pacific Coast via Salt Lake City. Another boost to tourism was development in
<br />Denver of a regional airport. Originally termed "Stapleton's Folly" when the
<br />Denver mayor insisted on buying 640 acres of land 10 miles from downtown
<br />Denver in 1923, the airport grew in 40 years to occupy 4,700 acres and be. the
<br />10th busiest in the nation, served by 16 scheduled airlines. Transcontinental
<br />flights were inaugurated in 1937 (Dorsett, 1986). Before Frontier Airlines
<br />went defunct., Denver was the only airport with three major carriers using it
<br />as a hub. Air transportation is expected to increase in the future and lead
<br />to the building of a larger, more modern airport sometime in the .1990's.
<br />Denver's potential as a regional transportation center is almost unlimited
<br />because of' its location and the absence of' another major city close by.
<br />Although tourism was the third ranking industry in the State during the
<br />60's and 60's, with the number of tourists doubling and their expenditures
<br />tripling during most that time, Western Slope communities failed to enjoy
<br />their share, of the -largesse, getting no more than 20 percent. of the, tourist
<br />dollars spent in the State during the 1950's. The major, reason for their lack
<br />of involvement. was difficult; access. The boom in skiing certainly increase=d
<br />their share of the take somewhat, but as late as the 1970'-s, automobile
<br />traffic over the most important, of the southwestern Colorado passes was fes',
<br />than a third of that over the major Front Ranges passes (Dorsett, L986).
<br />Certainly, the opening of the Eisenhower Tunnel_ in the 1970's had more to do
<br />with the increased prosperity of c.,entral. Colorado ski areas than almost an,y
<br />other single factor-. Even today, when the recreation and tourism _i ndus t.ry is
<br />the second largest industry in the State, bringing in almost $5.5 billion
<br />dollars a year-, ski operators arc.: petitioning state l esg i sl pit ors for brit i car
<br />access into their, areas (Sanko, 1987).
<br />It is important. to identify the factors responsible for C,o.lorado, aTld
<br />particularl.v the Front Range, growing as it has. The principal reason was
<br />jobs. Colorado, at least. until the mid-1970's, was a low cost-:low wage area
<br />that was especially at: tractive to i_ndustri.es. People were willing to migrat,c
<br />here from heavily industrialized sections of the country because job prospects
<br />in their, own states wore declining aril Colorado offered a host of attractive
<br />amen:it.ies. blue skys, sunshine, low humidity, moderate winters along; the Front
<br />Range and a cornucopia of outdoor recreational opportunities. N addition,
<br />the streets were uncrowded, crime was less noticable and the cities were
<br />clean. Many a tourist or military officer, arter visiting or being stationed
<br />in the State, decided to live here. Industries, especially those involved
<br />with high--technology, have located along the Front Range because they have
<br />access to a large, highly educated and trained lahor pool; are at, a focal.
<br />point of a transcontinental transportation network with excellent access to
<br />the Rocky Mountain region; and have the largest, commercial banking center
<br />between Kansas City and the Pacific ocean to provide capital for, construction
<br />and expansion.
<br />People have not come to Colorado and the Front Range because the region
<br />is awash in water; they expect it to be available in the same way they expect
<br />other services to be provided. Few individuals who contemplate migrating to
<br />the State think about the availability of water, and it is doubtful if many
<br />industries do either. Nonetheless, water supply has been a constant theme in
<br />the minds of those concerned with its place in the State's development. Its
<br />actual role deserves closer attention.
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