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employment and 76 percent of its income. The second - highest tourism dependent area is Region_.9,_ —. --- Archuleta; Dolores; La Plata; Montezuma; and San Miguel counties. Tourism accounts for 34 percent of southwestern Colorado's income and 24 percent of its employment. The third - highest tourism dependent region in the state is Region 10, Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montrose, 4uray, and San Miguel counties. In Region 10, tourism comprises 27 percent of the region's income and 21 percent of its employment. The current drought in Colorado most likely will impact the tourism sector through a decline in a variety of recreational activities. These include skiing, hunting, fishing, rafting, camping, and touring. As stated above, tourism accounts for approximately eight percent of Colorado's nonfarm employment, or approximately 220,000 jobs. Almost 53 percent of the tourism jobs in Colorado are in five sectors that are likely to be affected by the drought. These sectors are, in order of size: skiing, outdoor recreation, touring, resorts, and parks. Skiing accounts for 14.3 percent (30,347 jobs) of total tourism employment, outdoor recreation accounts for 13.1 percent (27,891 jobs), touring accounts for 10.1 percent (21,335 jobs), resort activity accounts for 9.9 percent (20,912 jobs), and park visits account for 5.5 percent (11,595 jobs). In total, tourism injects approxh.- lately $8.5 billion into the state's economy. Skiing, the largest sector of the tourism industry, accounts for 19 percent ($1,368 million) of total tourism spending. Touring accounts for $720 million (10 percent) of tourism spending in Colorado and outdoor recreation contributes $648 million (9 percent) to the state's tourism spending. If visits to the state's ski areas decline in the 2002 -03 ski season because of a lack of snow, the state's tourism economy will be seriously affected. Furthermore, state income and retail sales tax revenues will be lower. In addition, if tourists do not come to Colorado for touring or outdoor recreation, the state's economy will be impacted through a decline in hotel and restaurant visits as well as retail sales. This will also severely impact the state's economy. Experience with the 1977 Drought The last major drought in Colorado occurred in 1977. Data from the 1977 drought show that ski lift ticket sales declined by 2.3 million tickets, approximately 40 percent. In addition, employment at the ski areas declined by 15 percent. Moreover, it is estimated that the revenue loss to resort communities was approximately $76.8 million in uninflated dollars; commercial airlines lost approximately $15 million; retail sales declined by $7 million; and restaurant and hotel visits declined 29 percent. Experience with the 2002 Drought There is little statistical evidence available to date regarding the impact of the current drought on the state's tourism economy. Moreover, the evidence available thus far from the 2001 -02 ski season is complicated by the events of September 11. The most current data show that skier visits declined 5.1 percent in the 2001 -02 ski season. However, much of the downturn occurred in the first part of the ski season (November and December) and is most likely a result of September 11 rather than a lack of snow. Skier visits declined 14 percent in the first part of the ski season compared with the comparable period for last year, whereas they were almost equal with the prior ski season for the latter part of the 2001 -02 ski season. Much of the downturn occurred in the destination resorts (down 7.3 percent) compared with a decline of 4.3 percent for the Front Range ski areas. This further suggests that the decline can be attributed to September 11 rather than the drought. The impact of the drought on the tourism economy can also be assessed by examining how retail sales have fared during this ski season. In the mountain counties, during the first three months of the 2001 -02