OUTDOOR PRODUCTS AND RECREATION

from Business In Utah - 2019

by Utah Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity

LOCAL LEADERS

In Utah

NATURE PLAYS FAVORITES

by FRANK REDDY t’s been said by some that nature plays favorites — and for those in Utah who enjoy the wide range of outdoor recreational opportunities available here, it certainly seems a fi tting maxim.

Thanks to the variety of outdoor recreation destinations and the short proximity between them, visitors too can maximize their time, exploring in short order Utah’s natural splendor. Tom Adams, director of the Utah Offi ce of Outdoor Recreation, said any given outdoor recreation enthusiast could fl y into Utah early in the morning, speed down the slopes at a ski resort, drive

Iout to the desert for an afternoon rock climb or mountain bike session and wrap up the day trout fi shing a burbling stream as the sun sets over sparkling river waters. “You have such a wide diversity of landscapes and world-class recreation of all types from corner-to-corner of the state,” Adams said. “Utah is also a pretty phenomenal place when it comes to the outdoor industry, because logistically you can get product here fast and you can ship it out to retailers quite fast as well.” Added Adams: “Some of the biggest retailers in the country are within two days shipping from here, so you can ship large quantities to their distribution centers to disseminate around, and it’s quite effective. With logistics as well, it comes back to the geography here in Utah.”

The outdoor recreation industry has a huge impact in the state, contributing more than $12.3 billion to the economy, employing more than 110,000 people and generating $737 million in state and local tax revenues.

Gov. Gary Herbert in fact created Utah’s Offi ce of Outdoor Recreation — the fi rst of its kind in the country — in January 2013 due to the industry’s large, continued contribution to the state’s economy.

The offi ce aims to establish nationwide recreation management standards and ensure all the gorgeous natural assets of Utah can sustain this proven track record of economic growth for years to come.

Adams said much of the economy’s success is owing to the state’s workforce, with seven universities offering four-year degree majors in outdoor recreation — including Utah State University, which recently saw its fi rst graduating class for the nation’s fi rst-ever outdoor product design and development program.

“These are students who graduated and instantly get to go to work for great companies,” Adams said. He added that The University of Utah has one of the longest-running outdoor recreation programs in the country and recently celebrated its 50-year anniversary, while Southern Utah University “is producing some of the best land managers in the country with their program.”

Workforce development in the outdoor recreation industry is “so far ahead of the rest of the country and even in parts of the world — and, that helps us in terms of pushing highlyqualifi ed individuals out into the workforce.”

Much of that workforce includes those who manufacture outdoor products.

It makes sense that Utah’s outdoor products should continue to play such a large role — with 54 million acres of public land, fi ve national parks, 43 state parks, 14 ski resorts and thousands of miles of world class mountain bike trails.

“We’re probably one of the few places in the world where you could fully outfi t yourself to go hunting, fi shing, snowboarding, mountain biking and road biking, and every single product you take for the day could be from a company here in Utah … as with many things in this industry, it all comes back to our unique geography.”