By Frances Johnson
Tourism is big business in Utah and, with Gov. Gary Herbert’s requested $1.5 million bump in funding for the Tourism Marketing Performance Fund from the state Legislature, the business of tourism will only get bigger.
The Tourism Marketing Performance Fund was established in 2005 as a way of marketing Utah as a tourism destination — something that hadn’t really been done before then. Many people were unsure Utah could even support a robust tourism economy, so legislators made appropriations for the fund contingent on certain tourism-related performance measures and capped annual contributions at $3 million.
As it turned out, Utah tourism was up to the challenge.
“We’ve had consistent, really strong performance for the past several years,” said Vicki Varela, managing director of the Utah Office of Tourism.
In 2016, the most recent year for which complete numbers are available, tourists spent $8.4 billion in Utah, which translated into $1.2 billion in state and local tax revenue for the state. Put another way, every Utah household paid $1,200 less in taxes that year thanks to tourism-related income.
Thanks to income tax revenue generated from Utahns employed in the tourism industry, schools across the state saw an extra $200 million in funding in 2016. And Utah tourism shows no sign of slowing down. At the end of 2016, the editors of the travel guide Fodor’s named the one tourist destination in the world they thought was the best. It was Utah.
“It was one of those milestones that made us realize, ‘Wow, this industry has really taken off,’” Varela said. “Tourism is a major part of the Utah economy.”
The governor’s office and state legislature agree.
“Investing in tourism marketing is one of the ways Utah continues to have a balanced, thriving economy, particularly in our rural communities,” Herbert said in a statement. “These visitors create jobs, entrepreneurship opportunities and their taxes help fund state and local government services.”
Since 2005, the Tourism Marketing Performance Fund has grown to a current total of $21 million. Most recently that money has been used for two major marketing campaigns under the Life Elevated brand.
For winter tourists, the Utah Office of Tourism launched the “Greatest Snow On Earth” campaign, with an emphasis on the fact that that snow lies within an hour’s drive from a major international airport.
“Nobody in the world can compete with us on that,” Varela said.
To boost summer tourism, the office introduced the “Mighty 5” campaign, highlighting Utah’s five national parks.
The governor’s funding recommendation would bring the Tourism Marketing Performance Fund total up to $22.5 million, and if the Legislature approves the full $3 million possible appropriation hike, the fund would hit $24 million. Whatever the final number is, Varela said, the money will go to the Office of Tourism’s newest marketing effort, the Red Emerald Initiative.
Red emeralds are a very rare and valuable stone that is only mined here “and that’s the way we want people to see Utah as a tourist destination,” Varela said. The idea behind the Red Emerald Initiative is to target high-quality — and high-spending — visitors who are willing to stay for longer periods of time, hire local guides, use local services and explore more of Utah, such as the 43 state parks, BLM-managed lands and other less-visited recreational areas.
“These visitors by definition will create a better-quality experience for our communities that are hosting them, they will likely spend more money and they are more likely to become repeat visitors,” Varela said.
As many local communities — in particular in and around Moab — start to feel the pressure of large amounts of seasonal visitors, the Office of Tourism hopes the Red Emerald Initiative will create a more sustainable and manageable tourism industry for the state.
“We pay very close attention to communities that are feeling constraints,” Varela said. “We are not just going to keep on packing people in. That’s not sustainable growth. We want to continue to grow the industry but do it very, very thoughtfully in partnership with the local communities and how they want to grow. These are really important years to get it right.”
The tourism office also hopes positive tourism experiences will help grow other sectors of the state’s economy. For example, satisfied repeat visitors are more likely to consider relocating their businesses or their families to the state. That economic diversity will help Utah weather any economic highs and lows that lie ahead.
As the legislation currently stands, the Tourism Marketing Performance Fund will be capped at a total of $30 million. Varela said that’s plenty for now.
“The funding we have available enables us to do a very effective job and additional funding increases will continue to enhance that,” she said. “We want to be a strong contributor for the foreseeable future.”