Pot Tourism Is Growing But Some Destinations Still Take a Sober Approach
Photo Credit: Many destinations aren't sure how to promote pot tourism. Pictured is a tour guide on a Kush Tour in Seattle, Washington. Flickr / Beverly Yuen Thompson
Skift Take
Pot tourism isn't the first trend to get the cold shoulder from the travel industry. Just ask the LGBTQ and black travel communities, for example. Travelers will likely spend millions of dollars on pot, anyway, and will find out how to do so with or without the travel industry's help.
Some 82.4 million travelers visited Colorado in 2016, two years after the state became the first to legalize marijuana. Colorado Tourism conducted a survey in 2016 that found 15 percent of those visitors (about 12 million) participated in a marijuana-related activity, and 5 percent reported it as a motivation for their trip.
That number of pot loving tourists for 2016 in Colorado is more than most U.S. states' — and many countries' — annual visitor totals.
Colorado's experience underscores just how much pot is a growing sector of the travel industry, as more U.S. states and countries legalize marijuana. Whether it's visiting a dispensary, taking a cannabis tour, or kicking back at a pot lounge or coffee shop, weed is a big draw.
Still, many companies and organizations have yet to embrace pot tourism due to the legal uncertainties and sensitivities around the issue.
The U.S. Department of Justice said earlier this year that it's considering challenging some state marijua
