Conservation & stewardship campaign to be launched by Utah Office of Tourism

The Utah Office of Tourism, in partnership with Germany-based tour operator America Unlimited and the Utah-based nonprofit Tree Utah, is launching a comprehensive international marketing campaign promoting visitor education initiatives and Utah’s strategic industry partnerships to protect Utah’s outdoor places. The campaign is a multi-year commitment to long-term sustainable action, utilizing visitor donations to give back to the community in Utah and in Germany, the tourism office said.

“Empowering international visitors to participate in community-led sustainability initiatives creates a proactive method to minimize the impacts of travel and recreation in Utah,” said Rachel Bremer, the Utah Office of Tourism’s global markets director. “When booking a trip, we want travelers to be assured that we, Utah, are actively working to ensure our beautiful outdoor spaces remain forever mighty.”

“Forever Mighty” is the public-facing initiative to accomplish the goals of the Utah Office of Tourism’s Red Emerald Strategic Plan. The Forever Mighty initiative encourages travelers to explore Utah thoughtfully and safely by being well-prepared, aware of Utah’s delicate ecosystems and engaged with the local communities they are visiting. Forever Mighty also aims to inspire residents, visitors, businesses and stakeholders to take an active role in preserving and enriching Utah through advocacy, ambassadorship and stewardship opportunities.

On Oct. 13, Tree Utah joined volunteers from the Utah Office of Tourism and the Wayne County Office of Tourism in Torrey to plant 20 trees. Additional tree-planting locations will be identified at a later date. Following tree plantings, the Utah Office of Tourism will build itineraries and resources so travelers to the state can participate in conservation through a donation to Tree Utah when booking their travel with America Unlimited and by participating in tree-planting in Utah if they choose to. In addition, with every flight associated with bookings to the state of Utah for the 2023 booking season, trees will be planted on several hectares of land in the municipal forest of Wernigerode, Germany.

Following a successful campaign and multi-year commitment in Germany, the campaign will be modeled in other inbound markets with industry partners in France and Australia to complement the German efforts in subsequent years.

“Our thought here is to make a difference and give back to the environment. The campaign is for the long term and will become a permanent part of my business. We want to position ourselves more sustainably and also develop a measurable tool for this — for us and for the customers,” said Timo Kohlenberg, America Unlimited managing director and CEO.

“A change often starts with a vision in a small way. Every step in the right direction counts. Together, as a collective, we tourism professionals bear great responsibility and can make effective contributions to climate protection,” said Sarah Harwardt, accounting director of the Utah Office of Tourism Germany, Austria and Switzerland, based in Hannover.