BROCK VERGAKIS - The Associated Press | Posted: Friday, June 9, 2006 11:00 pm
SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah's tourism industry showed strong gains in the first quarter of 2006 with hotel occupancy rates reaching 68.6 percent, up 4.2 percent from the same period last year.
Occupancy rates are climbing even as the state's lodging industry expands thanks in part to a record number of skiers visiting Utah slopes this past season and a strong economy attracting business travelers, according to tourism officials.
That's translating into additional government revenue from hotel taxes, which were up 15.4 percent in the first four months of 2006 compared to the same period last year, according to figures released by the Utah Office of Tourism on Thursday. Exact revenue figures were not readily available.
Those increases are important to the tourism industry because the state's marketing budget will be directly tied to increases in tax revenues generated through tourism after next year.
The Legislature approved $10 million to advertise the state to tourists this year and $11 million beginning in July. That's an increase of about 1,000 percent from previous years.
"We're already seeing a positive return on this investment. It really indicates we're moving in the right direction," said Steve Lindburg, a Utah Office of Tourism development board member and the general manager of the downtown Hilton.
A nationwide image survey conducted for the Utah Office of Tourism showed that most potential tourists didn't have a negative impression of the state, but those who had not been here knew little about it. Those who had visited Utah gave the state high marks and said they were likely to return.
The first quarter figures include the peak skiing months of January, February and March.
The season ended in May with more than 4 million visits to Utah's 13 ski resorts. That's up more than 150,000 from the 2004-2005 season.
Skiers are important to the state's tourism industry because they tend to stay longer and spend more per day than average tourists.
Skiers are a target of the state's new "Life Elevated" advertising campaign, which is designed to attract adventure travelers who earn more than $75,000 a year to take a vacation here.
Tourism is a growing $5.45 billion industry in Utah employing nearly 120,000 people that attracted more than 18.2 million visitors in 2005, an increase of 4 percent from the previous year. In 2005, the statewide occupancy rate was 65 percent.
The increase in hotel occupancy is a statewide trend that is also spurring new construction. Two hotels opened up this year in the St. George area, four more are under construction and others are considering expanding, said Pamela Hilton, marketing director for the St. George Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
"Even with gas prices going up, (because of) our close proximity to Los Angeles and the California market, ... people can drive and still see some great fantastic scenery with one tank of gas," she said.
In the past, summer was the busiest tourism season in southern Utah but in recent years winter has surpassed it as tourists seek a more mild climate.
Lindburg said convention business has been particularly strong this year, helping fill downtown hotels.
Typically, only about 85 percent of convention attendees who say they will attend actually make it to an event, he said. This year it's running closer to 95 percent, he said.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D6.