As Park City’s abundance of outdoor activities draws more and more visitors to the area, residents are becoming extremely worried about the impact of tourism on the natural environment, according to a recent survey.
Many are approaching a breaking point from “overtourism” and see degradation of Summit County’s key natural assets as a real and looming threat, the survey says.
To address these issues, the Park City Chamber & Visitors Bureau has been developing a Sustainable Tourism Plan to keep travel and tourism a viable industry while implementing stewardship strategies.
On Thursday, the organization presented an update on the plan at a virtual public meeting.
Another public meeting, this one in-person, will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Santy Auditorium, 1255 Park Ave. The Chamber/Bureau will share some of the same content from the Thursday presentation, as well as an update on progress made on the plan.
The survey is part of a situation assessment of the current state of the tourism industry in Park City and Summit County that was prepared by the Coraggio Group, a Portland, Ore., management consulting company.
Company consultants spent six months conducting interviews, evaluating 2,600-plus survey responses and researching government documents. The information included an analysis by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, which evaluates communities on criteria related to sustainable tourism.
In the survey, the top answers of 2,198 respondents who were asked if they could recommend only one Park City/Summit County tourism asset to someone, what specific one would they suggest were skiing, hiking, mountain biking, Main Street and Deer Valley.
On tourism perceptions, the 1,954 people who responded agreed most strongly with the statement, “I am worried about the impact tourism will have on Park City/Summit County’s natural environment.” The respondents had an average score of 4.5, with 5 being the highest level of agreement.
Getting a 3.84 average score was “My community is ready to welcome visitors from all communities including LGBTQ+, Native American, African American, People with Disabilities, etc.”
At the bottom of the list was “I believe Park City/Summit County is ready for more tourism,” with a 1.74 average score.
The top issues that 1,903 respondents thought might impact the visitor economy were transportation/traffic (4.65), environmental degradation (4.34), workforce challenges (4.29), declining snowpack (4.24), Summit County population growth (4.18), wildfires (4.11) and insufficient public infrastructure (4.04). Of least concern was limited brand/destination awareness at 2.0.
A focus of the plan is 11 objectives that include cultivating pride and respect for the Park City/Summit County experience; investing in a unified community response to the challenges and opportunities of the visitor economy; implementing sustainable land use, transportation, water, and recycling policies; and fostering the development of Park City/Summit County’s arts and culture tourism assets.
The Coraggio Group findings were released in March. All of the information will be used by the Chamber/Bureau to lay out specific tactics for balanced and sustainable tourism development. A 22-person Stewardship Council that includes members from a wide range of backgrounds is assisting in the effort.
Matthew Landkamer, of the Coraggio Group, said at Thursday’s meeting that Park City and Summit County are going to have visitation no matter what.
“This is a tourist destination,” he said. “This is fairly cutting-edge to be thinking long-term about the destination. Lots of destinations are thinking more near-term and doing a three-year plan but to think 10 or more years out like we’re doing with this plan is at the forefront of the industry planning trends.”
For more information about the plan and Wednesday’s meeting, visit parkcitychamber.com/sustainabletourismplan.