• Travelers account for $4.2 billion* in traveler spending for the Utah economy



• Traveler spending generated $341 million* in state and local tax revenues



• In 2003, 17.2 million visitors traveled to Utah



• 103,585* jobs in travel and tourism-related industries (9.6% of total Utah nonfarm jobs)
  o 71,059 Direct tourism jobs
  o 32,526 Indirect tourism jobs



• Domestic overnight leisure visitors spent on average $75 per person per day and stayed 3.1 nights (2001 Overnight Leisure Visitor Profile, D.K. Shifflet and Associates, Ltd.)



• 83% of Utah’s visitors come from the Western United States (2001 Data)
  

  - Utah - California - Idaho

  - Nevada - Colorado - Texas - Wyoming

  - Washington - Arizona - Mexico

  
  
• International visitors accounted for 3.4% of total non-resident visitation with an estimated 590,000 visits in 2003. Top international markets include: (2002 Data)
  

  - Canada - Germany - United Kingdom

  - France - Japan - Italy

  - Switzerland - Netherlands

  
  
• International visitors to Utah spent on average $81 per day and stayed 5.7 nights in Utah (1/4 of their total U.S. trip – 1997-99 data)



• 5.0 million recreation visits were made to Utah’s five national parks during 2003. Another 4.9 million recreation visits occurred at Utah’s eight national monuments and two recreation areas



• 4.6 million visitors enjoyed Utah’s 41 state parks during 2002



• 22.7 million vehicles crossed Utah’s borders along Interstate highways in 2003



• 18.5 million passengers arrived at Salt Lake International Airport during the year



• Utah ski resorts hosted 3.39 million skier days during the 2003/04 season



• 659,000 visitors stopped at one of Utah’s six Welcome Centers during 2003



• 58.8% statewide hotel/motel occupancy rate

*These figures are estimates.

UTAH WELCOME CENTERS

Utah’s six welcome centers, located along major transportation corridors throughout the state, reported increasing visitation for the second time in seven years. Total Welcome Center visitation totaled 676,781 in 2002, a 3% increase over 2001. Visitation figures were fairly flat at the Echo (0%) and Brigham City (1%) Welcome Centers. The largest increases were at St. George (9%) and Thompson Springs (8%). The Jensen and Council Hall Welcome Centers both reported declines (23% and 4% respectively).

EMPLOYMENT

During 2002, travel and tourism-related employment totaled 101,164 jobs scattered throughout the state. This represented only a 0.2% decrease compared to 2001’s employment levels. Additionally, tourism-related job growth continues to outperform statewide job growth (-0.2% compared to -0.7%).

Twenty of Utah’s 29 counties experienced tourism-related job growth from 2001 to 2002. Millard (9%), Daggett (8%), Rich (5%) and Washington (5%) all posted strong gains in tourism-related employment. The 2002 tourism job growth rate fell below the state’s five-year average annual tourism job growth rate of 3.7%. Over the past several years, most of the state’s tourism-related job growth has occurred around the Wasatch Front and in adjoining counties such as Cache, Tooele, Summit, Morgan, and Wasatch. However, pockets of strong job growth have also occurred in Washington, Rich, and Uintah Counties.

Tourism-related jobs account for over 9% of total nonfarm jobs in Utah (one in every 11 jobs). If tourism is treated as a separate industry, it is the sixth-largest employment sector in the state, behind Trade, Transportation, Utilities; Government; Manufacturing; Professional & Business Services; and Education & Health Services. Tourism lost only 245 new jobs, while the state as a whole lost nearly 8,000 jobs in 2002.

Although two-thirds of travel and tourism-related jobs are located along the four-county Wasatch Front area, many counties in rural areas of the state are more dependent on tourism. Fewer employment opportunities within rural counties means that tourism jobs are crucial to providing needed employment, tax receipts, personal income, and business profits. Counties in the northeast and southeast areas of the state are particularly dependent on tourism. Tourism accounts for more than a fifth (20%) of total nonfarm employment in 11 counties, led by Daggett (70%), Garfield (49%), Grand (48%), Summit (45%), and Kane (40%).

VISITATION STATISTICS

National Parks. Visiting Utah’s national parks continues to be the state’s top tourist attraction. For the last decade, Utah’s national parks have attracted around five million visitors. The popularity of Utah’s national parks increased rapidly during the mid-80s and early 90s, growing by nearly 10% per year to 5.3 million visitors by 1992. Since 1992, the number of visitors to Utah’s national parks has hovered close to five million, although visitation peaked in 1996 at 5.7 million. Since 1996, national park visitation has declined in four of the past six years.

In 2002, 5.1 million visitors arrived to national parks in Utah, a 4.1% increase from 2001. The state’s best performance was Zion, where visitation increased 16.4%, followed by Arches (2.1%) and Canyonlands (1.9%). Zion, Utah’s most popular national park, had over 2.5 million visitors in 2002. Bryce Canyon suffered a decrease of 17.0% less visitors, while Capitol Reef’s visitation only slightly declined by 0.8%.

Visitation levels to Utah’s national parks reflected an overall visitation pattern to national parks throughout the west with some enjoying increases and others suffering declines. Among the most popular parks in the region, visitation declined at Death Valley (-11%) and Yellowstone (-31%). Visitation increased or stayed the same as the previous year at Grand Canyon (2%), Grand Teton (29%), Olympic (4%), Rocky Mountain (13%), Mount Ranier (41%), Glacier (146%), and Yosemite (7%).

Skiing. Utah’s ski industry braced itself for a difficult 2001/02 season. The terrorist attacks, the economy, and the Olympics were all expected to negatively affect skier visits to the state. That season, Utah’s ski resorts reported a better-than-expected decline of only 9%. Totaling 3.0 million skier days. In 2002/03, despite a weak economy, the number of skier days increased 5.3% to 3.1 million.

After seeing the Olympics, a large number of destination skiers came from outside the state and helped boost Utah’s numbers. Many local skiers stayed home while waiting for the usual large January snowstorms that never came. It’s interesting to note that the three Park City resorts recorded the largest gains, and each benefited from a log of Olympic publicity.

National Monuments & Recreation Areas. Utah’s national monuments and recreation areas remain popular destinations for travelers. However, visitation decreased in 2002 to approximately 5.0 million, down 8% from the year before. All but two of Utah’s national monuments and recreation areas reported declines during 2002, ranging from a 2% drop at Grand Staircase-Escalante NM to a 17% decline at Hovenweep NM. Natural Bridges NM recorded an increase of 13% and visitation to Golden Spike NHS increased 6%, but those gains weren’t enough to offset the declines elsewhere.

Salt Lake International Airport. Although total passengers to the Salt Lake International Airport have decreased in each of the last six years, the decrease is largely attributable to declines in the number of connecting flights made through Salt Lake International Airport. Total passenger traffic at the airport barely declined by 0.5% in 2002, totaling 18.7 million passengers. However, the number of destination visitors (representing approximately 54% of 2002’s total passengers – as measured by local enplanes and deplanes) decreased by 5% to 10.1 million passengers. The terrorist attacks of September 11th affected air transportation more than any other industry. Increased security measures have made air travel more difficult. Combine the fear of terrorism with the perception that air travel is more difficult add a struggling economy, and one can see why some airlines are facing financial crises. Nevertheless, overall passenger counts at Salt Lake International Airport were nearly on par with 2001 levels.

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