Denver International Airport Welcomes Non-Essential International Travelers

After more than 600 days, the U.S. travel ban has been lifted

DENVER – Nov. 8, 2021 – Today, Denver International Airport (DEN) welcomed the arrival of non-essential travelers from more than 30 counties. Travel bans were put into place in early 2020 which banned nonessential travel from countries including China, the European Union, the United Kingdom, South Africa, India and Brazil.

“The reopening of U.S. borders to vaccinated international travelers marks a critical milestone in the recovery of Denver’s travel and tourism industry,” said Richard W. Scharf, President and CEO of VISIT DENVER. “As Denver emerges from the pandemic with new international nonstop flights, enhanced cultural offerings and new attractions, we could not be more eager to welcome back global visitors, which represent a crucial source of annual tourism revenue for our city and state.”

DEN serves not only travelers visiting the Mile High City but is also a gateway to destinations across the state of Colorado. DEN’s airline partners provide nonstop access to all of Colorado’s commercial service airports.

“Today marks yet another positive milestone along our path to recovery,” said DEN CEO Phil Washington. “International travelers contribute to the diversity of our airport environment and the wider community, and we are pleased to welcome them back.”

In 2019 DEN welcomed more than 1.7 million international travelers. Visitors from the banned countries represented nearly 40 percent of total inbound travel to Denver, with the highest volumes from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and China, respectively.

“The state of Colorado is excited to welcome back international travelers with the opening of the U.S. borders today,” said Tim Wolfe, Director of the Colorado Tourism Office. “These overseas travelers are beneficial to the state, as they are our highest-spending tourists, due to longer stays and off-season visits. International travelers are very environmentally savvy travelers who also fit well with our Care for Colorado principles and have a tendency to spend time in many areas of the state to experience our nature and wide-open spaces.”

In summer 2022, DEN is scheduled to have more nonstop international flights and capacity than at any point in the airport’s history. Nonstop international flights will be up by 16 percent, and capacity will be up by 28 percent, as compared to summer 2019. Of DEN’s 25 airlines, 15 will provide nonstop international service to 25 destinations in summer 2022.

Denver International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world. DEN is the primary economic engine for the state of Colorado, generating more than $36 billion for the region annually. For more information visit www.FlyDenver.com, check us out on YouTube and Instagram, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Sign up for DEN’s monthly newsletter Nonstop News.

###