Funding that the Utah Legislature allocates for marketing the state’s offerings to visitors is working.
That was the message at the 2011 Tourism Day at the Hill the annual event at the Capitol building attended by tourism promoters across the state. Lunch is served for lawmakers and members of the industry ask them for continued financial support.
“The funding to market is critical,” said Nathan Rafferty, president of Ski Utah the agency that promotes Utah’s 14 resorts. “The tourism industry is such that no players are big enough to carry the weight for everybody I can’t stress enough how important it is.”
Scott Pierpont is the vice president of sales for Doppelmayr, a manufacturer of ski-lift equipment with an office in Salt Lake City.
He said the success of the resorts has an impact on a lot of sectors.
“If the ski resorts aren’t building lifts, we’re out of business,” he said.
Colorado markets its resorts aggressively. If skiers choose those resorts over Utah’s because they were more effectively marketed to, it will be a loss for everyone, he said.
Spencer Eccles is the executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. He said Gov. Gary Herbert has proposed a budget in which the department’s funding is not cut.
“Gov. Herbert last year asked us to do more with less. This year he’s asked us to do more with the same,” Eccles said.
If the Legislature agrees, then Eccles said doing more with the same budget will require players to work cooperatively something Utah agencies are used to doing and do effectively.
“I’m seeing great collaboration. In Utah, that’s our secret sauce,” he added.
Leigh Von der Esch, managing director of the Utah Office of Tourism, said her budget has gone from $11 million to $7 million since the recession began. Last year it was only reduced by $50,000. She too hopes the Legislature agrees to the governor’s proposal to maintain the same funding.
As the economy improves, people are traveling again, she said. There’s a lot of optimism for the coming year. using social media and other inexpensive marketing tools, Von der Esch said agencies have done a good job marketing Utah without spending more.
Utah tourism promoters do a good job of getting “bang for their buck,” said Bill Malone, CEO of the Park City Chamber/ Bureau.
The success of the most recent Sundance Film Festival is evidence that people are traveling again and spending money.
The Chamber/Bureau’s television ads in New York, Los Angeles and San Diego have resulted in strong bookings for the rest of winter, he added. More evidence of their effectiveness has been the QuickStart redemptions from travelers in those cities.
Rep. Joel Briscoe, D-Salt Lake City, represents the West Side of Summit County and attended the event.
The Legislature’s proposal to cut the budget seven percent is unrealistic, he said. He supports the governor’s budget and the marketing funding in it, he said.
“You’ve got to spend money to make money. It’s a competitive world for people’s recreation dollars,” he added.
Sen. Kevin Van Tassell, R-Vernal, represents Park City and the Kamas area. He said he, too, supports maintaining the same budget for tourism promotion.
“Holding is a good starting point. It’s something we have a good chance of winning on,” he said.
If the final state budget numbers that are coming soon are good, some additional one-time funding might also be possible, he added.
“One thing I know is that everybody’s got their hand out,” Van Tassell said.
View Utah State Capitol Building in a larger map