Tourists are welcome here: Utah's largest private industry.

• Author: Gilchrist, Rose

TOURISTS ARE WELCOME HERE

Utah's Largest Private Industry

Utah's scenic beauty is big business, and it's getting bigger all the time. According to Jay Woolley, director of the Utah Travel Council, tourism is the largest or second largest private sector industry in the state. "Some think agriculture is number one and some think tourism is first. The key words are |private sector'--obviously defense is bigger, but the dollars tourists bring to the state are substantial, and it's a major growth industry."

Something for Everyone

Visitors spend about $2.3 billion per year in Utah. The industry employs about 52,000 people and has an annual payroll in excess of $450 million. Each year, about 11.5 million people visit the state, and the number is growing. Increases have been steady as national and state parks have been established over recent decades, but during the past few years there have been surges with growth into the 15 to 16 percentiles. During 1990, growth leveled off to around 8 to 10 percent, but Woolley predicts that major increases would "absolutely" continue.

"There is a trend toward outdoor recreation, and we have the ultimate destination for outdoor recreation," says Woolley. "I think that will continue for a couple of reasons. For one, the dispensable income is getting to an age group that is much younger than it used to be. In other words, there are younger people with more money to spend on vacations. Secondly, families are recreating together, and we have the opportunity for those kinds of vacations. There may be a plateau where it'll level off as the families get older, but I don't think we'll see that in my lifetime. I think it's a continuing growth industry."

The major obstacle to industry growth the state is grappling with now is in infrastructure--the ability to feed, house, and host the number of visitors it is getting. "There are places in the state where, particularly in the summer, it's completely full," Woolley said. "There are locations in the state with unmatched scenic beauty but no place to stay. Those problems are being addressed, but in the meantime we're trying to spread out the impact by selling the |shoulder' seasons: spring and fall. There's no place more beautiful in the fall than Utah. If you go down to Lake Powell in September and October, it's beautiful and there's no one there." Woolley said he believes the trend toward year-round schools will help expand the travel season for families.

What is the state's strategy to ensure that growth continues? "Our promotions focus on pushing the state's scenic beauty," Woolley said. "We use what we call our |sellable differences' to draw people across the borders of the state. Those sellable differences are known quantities like national parks, state parks, and those kinds of things that have name recognition throughout the world. We have international and national programs which work directly with tour operators for bulk travel. We also have offices in Tokyo, Seoul, and Brussels to help us promote the state, especially to groups and major tour operators in the international arena."

Foreign Visitors

The Brussels, Belgium, office opened last year and is run by Vera Novak. Utah is the...