(Metro area should have a diverse economy, not just tourism, etc..)

Real estate would be more expensive but assuming constant mountain/city tourism I could see a greater ROI. 

REI can be risky, so adding additional revenue generators into the project can lessen the risk.I'm working on a project in Costa Rica that has investor opportunities in Real Estate (vacation homes etc) Some of the development includes an Event Center with revenue streams from GROUP Travel, Tourism and Events, such as Golf Clinics, Yoga Retreats, Business Education and Corporate Team Building etc.

I don't know of a STR banned city database.You can search through this forum.If you pick a tourist town then you should be OK as they get a lot of revenue from tourism and will likely not do anything to upset that.

Regarding the hospitality industry, the growth in number of tourism arrivals is quite strong and source markets are diversifying.

Logan, you might Google tourism in Canada, to get a general feel for it and then narrow the search to your region.  

The question then becomes, in an area that is highly dependent on service workers for a successful tourism trade, etc., where are those workers supposed to live, and how far can they reasonably be expected to drive and pay for transportation while still being able to have enough for their living expenses? 

Just depends.I was able to get a zoning variance to put a small campground on a property once, in WA, because the county wanted to increase tourism and needed more camping spots.  

I had a 2 acre parcel in Wa many years ago, and got a variance for a small campground on just 2 acres, because the county wanted more campgrounds for tourism.

. $140m in improvements to the speedway and surrounding infrastructure, $100m+ in RE projects both permanent (condos) and tourism (hotels) already committed with broken ground, BUT - unlimited expansion westward.