Utah Office of Tourism
OVERVIEW U.C.A. 63M-1-1404 FY2013 was a strong year for tourism, with continued growth in the number of visits to the state and raised awareness of Utah as a prime travel destination. In 2012, travelers spent an estimated $7.4 billion in Utah, contributing $960 million in tax revenues to the state, and establishing tourism as one of the state’s major economic contributors. A new Mighty Five™ national parks campaign, public relations strategy and expanded partnerships are all contributing to the Utah Office of Tourism’s (UOT) continued success. The mission of UOT is to brand and promote Utah’s great experiences and destinations for visitors and citizens in an inspiring way to support and enhance economic vitality and quality of life in our state. The marketing program is concentrated on travel from non-resident visitors, generating one or more overnight stays. The office’s primary source of funding is the Tourism Marketing Performance Fund (TMPF), which calculates the funding based on the previous year’s tourism-related tax revenues. This fund is strictly to be used for out-of-state marketing, with 10% passed directly to the Utah Sports Commission to attract major sporting events to the state and 20% allocated to a co-operative marketing program with regional destination marketing partners and non-profit organizations. The balance is used for advertising, public relations and major event sponsorships such as the Sundance Film Festival and Tour of Utah. To maximize the effectiveness of the TMPF marketing budget, UOT focuses our marketing campaigns on a select group of seven proven Western markets for the summer campaign and three winter markets, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington D.C./Baltimore. Additionally, UOT works with a national public relations firm to secure valuable earned media coverage in national print, television and online publications such as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Outside, Sunset, NY Post, Town & Country, Fodors, and CBS This Morning and Afar. International tourism also plays a key role in Utah’s economy, with visitors from Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Brazil, China and Mexico. To support robust international visitation, UOT has agent offices in Germany, France, the UK and Japan and attends trade shows focused on the international, travel-trade market. Collectively, UOT’s marketing and communications effort provide an integrated, comprehensive and multi-faceted promotional effort to inspire new and returning visitors to plan their vacations in Utah. Governor’s Office of Economic Development • 2013 Annual Report • www.business.utah.gov
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