Higher still: record tourism brings rewards-and angst.

• Author: Tilton, Morgan
• Position: TRAVEL/TOURISM

There were no stoplights lining the roads when Larry Fisher moved from Aspen to Pagosa Springs 35 years ago. Now, there are eight. "Whenever there is growth in a community, there are going to be advantages and disadvantages," says Fisher, owner of Ski and Bow Rack, who relocated to the state's southwest corner, in part for its low-traffic appeal. For small mountain towns that sit at the foot of ski resorts with world-class terrain and majestic views, the appeal is no mystery.

Last year, Colorado hosted 21 percent of all overnight ski trips in the U.S., according to the Longwoods International Colorado Travel Year 2014 report. And compared to the previous year, there was an increase in visitors who traveled to Colorado for outdoor pursuits, as well as all-around touring, city trips and country-resort stays.

For Ski and Bow Rack, a large number of customers are out-of-towners--many of them repeat visitors for several years running, Fisher says.

Starting out as a tiny ski shop 35 years ago, Fisher's year-round store is the state's No. 1 dealer for hunting and fishing licenses. Besides fishing equipment, the shop's retail includes gear for skiing, camping, mountain biking and archery--all personal interests of the owner that made their way into the shop over the years.

Colorado travelers in 2014 pumped more than $18.6 billion into the economy and directly supported more than 155,000 jobs with earnings of more than $5.1 billion, according to the Economic Impact of Travel on Colorado report, released by Dean Runyan Associates in June 2015 for the Colorado Tourism Office.

"An increase of the number of local people moving here and visitors has made things a lot easier on us, financially, so there are pluses and minuses to everything," says Fisher, in light of the growth and development he's seen over the past three decades. Most recently, the town's first Walmart opened in Spring 2014--which received some pushback from fellow business owners--as well as two new grocery stores as of July, spurred by long checkout lines and an influx of tourists.

Reflecting Colorado's tourism trajectory, the monthly lodgers' tax in Pagosa Springs has increased every year since 2008, despite the economic downturn, no tax changes and no new inventory since 2009, according to Jennifer Green, director of Visit Pagosa Springs. The 2014 monthly lodgers tax represented a roughly 15 percent increase over the previous year.

The state posted some record tourism numbers (with...