Utah tourism's development arm hands out $3.4 million in promotion funds

Several dozen organizations will receive a total of $3.4 million from the Utah Board of Tourism Development to promote their areas to out-of-state travelers.

The board made the allocation approvals for cooperative marketing matching funds after receiving 68 applications from eligible nonprofits in 21 of Utah’s 29 counties. Requests totaled more than $4.4 million. Applicants generally received 70 percent to 85 percent of their requests.

Funds are fully distributed only after return-on-investment reports are submitted.

“The cooperative marketing program is a successful tool for growing Utah’s tourism economy,” said Vicki Varela, managing director of the Utah Office of Tourism and Film, part of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. “These are locally led initiatives matched by state dollars to fund diverse marketing initiatives.”

The co-op marketing pairs with the Office of Tourism marketing and branding campaigns to build a robust tourism economy. Last year, visitors spent $8.17 billion in Utah, generating $1.15 billion in state and local tax revenues.

Organizations with the largest grants are Ski Utah, $233,200; Visit Salt Lake, $227,700; Sundance Institute, $226,600; Park City Chamber/Bureau, $223,300; and Moab Area Travel Council, $210,100.

The funds are provided through the state’s Tourism Marketing Performance Fund, which can be increased by up to $3 million per year if certain performance measures are met. Performance measures have been met every year for the past five years, and the Legislature has funded increases in four of the last five years, bringing the total fund to $21 million.

The office has been trying to lure visitors off the beaten path. As a result, 76 percent of co-op grants went to communities without a national park. The board also allocated about $850,000 in “cafeteria” co-ops, which will assist local communities build tourism websites, generate photos of their areas, execute social media and other initiatives. Twenty-seven of Utah’s 29 counties received either a traditional or cafeteria co-op grant.

Recipients in the most recent funding round are:

• Beaver County Travel Council, $52,220.

• Cache Valley Visitors Bureau, $39,912.

• Capitol Reef/Wayne County, $15,280.

• Cedar City-Brian Head Tourism’s Shakespeare Adventure, $43,230; and Winter Marketing, $137,625.

• Davis County, $22,200.

• Discovery Gateway, $1,650.

• Emery County Travel Bureau’s Digital Campaign, $7,400; Website Phase II, $22,320; and Branding & Marketing, $58,400.

• Escalante Canyons Art Festival, $9,546.

• Foothill Cultural District, $4,350.

• Four Corners School of Outdoor Education, $48,246.

• Garfield County Office of Tourism, $175,500.

• Great Basin Heritage Area, $7,313.

• Heber Valley Historic Railroad, $3,330.

• Heber Valley Office of Tourism’s Corporate Marketing, $11,625; Marketing, $39,853; and Ski Sales & Marketing, $4,078.

• Kane County Office of Tourism’s Balloons & Tunes Roundup, $7,750; Digital Campaign, $143,220; and Love Media Placement, $18,600.

• Kimball Art Center, $22,080.

• Loveland Living Planet Aquarium, $29,344.

• Moab Area Travel Council, $210,100.

• Moab Folk Festival, $7,900.

• Moab Music Festival, $7,450.

• National Ability Center, $54,758.

• Ogden Friends of Acoustic Music, $3,500.

• Park City Chamber/Bureau, $223,300.

• Piute County 2nd Jump Start Application, $21,000.

• Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce, $19,273.

• Ski Utah, $233,200.

• Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife, $70,600.

• St. George Convention & Tourism Office’s AU Adventure, $25,020; German Theater, $24,660; German Winter, $25,440; International, $18,151; Southern Utah Winter, $38,340; and Springdale/Sky, $73,200.

• Sundance Institute, $226,600.

• The Neil Simon Festival, $17,850.

• Tooele County’s Branding Campaign, $53,400; Country Fan Fest, $110,100; and Ford Performance, $35,600.

• Town of Garden City, $3,575.

• Tuacahn Center for Performing Arts, $188,294.

• Uintah County Travel & Tourism’s Origin of Adventure, $104,746; and Flaming Gorge, $11,670.

• Utah Festival Opera, $36,660.

• Utah Shakespeare Festival, $77,440.

• Utah Symphony and Opera, $15,120.

• Utah Valley CVB’s Festivals, $20,776; Meetings, $67,354; Sports, $22,945; and Sundance, $8,648.

• Utah’s Patchwork Parkway, $1,892.

• Visit Ogden’s Meetings, $47,332; Spartan, $47,450; Summer, $28,981; and Winter, $46,672.

• Visit Salt Lake, $227,700.

• Wasatch Western Heritage, $2,751.

• Weber Cultural Legacy Foundation (dba GOAL), $11,310.

• Western Legends Roundup, $4,290.

• Zion Natural Park Forever Project, $14,368.