UOT is pleased to offer four new opportunities designed to help Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) and other stakeholders develop, market, and manage new and existing tourism assets, with NO local match required.

This funding is part of a 2021 grant the Utah Office of Tourism received  from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to aid the recovery and resilience of the tourism industry. Grants include Product Development Studios, Feasibility & Economic Impact Studies, and an Implementation Grant.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis beginning September 1, 2022 until May 31, 2026 or
until all funds are exhausted, whichever comes first.

Please visit our Destination Development Co-op Opportunities page for more information.

The Utah Office of Tourism’s Co-op marketing program is now open for accepting applications with the following schedule:

• May  25, 2022 – Program opens and is ready to start accepting Round 2022 applications
• June 22, 2022 – Deadline for accepting applications
• July 11 and 12, 2022  – This year’s oral interviews will be held in person at Council Hall and if necessary, Zoom meeting options may become available.
• August 12, 2022 – The award announcements will be made during the Board of Tourism Development meeting in Salt Lake City

Visit our Traditional & Forever Mighty Co-op Marketing Program page here for information on what’s new this year, training webinars, accessing the program, In-State marketing and packages information, and for helpful tips and links.

Please contact Kelly Day or Celina Sinclair with any questions.

Included In This Toolkit
In collaboration and celebration with Governor Cox declaring April 2022 Utah’s second official Dark Sky Month, the Utah Office of Tourism is redistributing its toolkit with dark sky-related resources and assets for our tourism industry partners to utilize and share throughout this month and beyond.

The Dark Skies Edition Toolkit includes the following resources:

• A Beginner’s Guide to Dark Skies
• An Astrotourism Industry Guide
• A Customizable Utah Dark Sky Month Press Release
• The Official Dark Sky Month Press Release
• Visit Utah’s Social Tips for Dark Sky Month
• Shareable Dark Sky Digital Content from VisitUtah.com
• UOT’s Dark Sky Image Library

Click the buttons below to access the resources!

Utah Dark Sky Month Declaration

From the Office of Governor Spencer J. Cox
On April 1st, 2022, Governor Cox declared the month of April as Utah Dark Sky Month for the second consecutive year. The declaration encourages residents and visitors alike to celebrate this month by visiting one of Utah’s 24 accredited International Dark Sky Places – including all of the Mighty 5® national parks, 10 state parks, and two towns.

Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism

Collaboration of the Dark Sky Cooperatives
In January 2022, the Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism at Utah State University became the home base for the Colorado Plateau and Basin and Range Dark Sky Cooperatives. Through this partnership, informational and educational resources of both organizations have been collated into the Gateway & Natural Amenity Region Initiative’s GNAR Dark Skies Toolkit. These tools can be used by individuals, communities, and planners to promote and protect natural night skies.

Celebrate International Dark Sky Week

April 22 – 30, 2022
Every year, the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) hosts International Dark Sky Week during the month of April in order to create greater awareness about light pollution and its negative consequences, the solutions, and simultaneously celebrate the night. This year, IDA is inviting everyone to discover the night during the week of April 22-30. This is an exciting opportunity to create interest and bring new people into the dark sky movement.

Check out IDA’s Outreach Toolkit to learn more about how to participate in International Dark Sky Week 2022!

Utah State Parks

Dark Sky Events and Programming
Justina Parsons-Bernstein, Dark Sky Initiative ​Coordinator for Utah State Parks, has compiled a list of dark sky events and programming that occurs across the state throughout the year. Keep up to date with each park’s website and social media pages, linked in the document, for current scheduling.

Included In This Toolkit
Today, March 22nd, is National Agriculture Day. The Utah Office of Tourism is celebrating by releasing our Utah Agritourism Toolkit! This toolkit, developed in partnership with Utah’s Own, includes agritourism-related resources and assets for our industry partners to utilize and share.

The Agritourism Edition Toolkit includes the following resources:

• An Agritourism Industry Guide
• Shareable Agritourism Digital Content from VisitUtah.com
• UOT’s Agritourism Image Library
• Utah’s Own Producer List

The Utah Agritourism Toolkit includes the following resources

A Table for All’ Receives Tourism Marketing Award
The Utah Office of Tourism has illustrated a successful approach to community-minded agritourism content with their 3-part video series “A Table for All: Feeding Utah’s Culture.” This series earned a Gold Adrian Award for “Digital Marketing Series” from Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International, and is being evaluated for “Platinum” and “Best in Show” recognition. This series spotlights the International Rescue Committee’s New Roots refugee-focused farm program, as well as farm-to-table dining practices at local restaurants in Ogden and Salt Lake City.

Utah’s Own 20th Anniversary 
This year, Utah’s Own celebrates its 20th anniversary of connecting consumers with local producers and farmers. To stay engaged with Utah’s Own and its 20th anniversary, follow them on social media or sign up for their email newsletter at utahsown.org.

Utah Farmers Market Network
The Utah Farmers Market Network at Utah State University supports local agriculture in Utah by promoting farmers markets and providing resources to increase capacity through communication, collaboration, technical assistance and professional development. To find a local farmer’s market in your destination, click here.

Calling on industry partners to join in submitting nominations for the 2022 Utah Tourism Hall of Fame!

The Utah Tourism Hall of Fame is presented by the Utah Tourism Industry Association and Utah Office of Tourism. Hall of Fame recipients are nominated by their peers and selected for contributions made to Utah’s tourism industry at the state, regional, or local levels. The Hall of Fame was first introduced in 1985 and has recognized 122 individuals who have elevated life in Utah through their leadership in tourism marketing, stewardship, and destination management.

The nominees will be reviewed, and a final selection will be made by a joint UOT and UTIA selection committee. The committee will make the selection based on a ranking matrix that follows the questions in this nomination form. As such, it is recommended that time is taken to submit thoughtful responses and highly recommended submissions include supporting documents (ie letters of support, imagery, articles, etc) to build a more complete nomination.

Please submit nominations HERE by Friday, APRIL 29. The presentation will take place at the annual Utah Tourism Conference, September 27-30, 2022, in Vernal, Utah, at the Uintah Conference Center.

The Utah Office of Tourism is pleased to announce three cooperative planning grant opportunities, open for applications November 15 through December 31, 2021, 5:00 pm MT. The purpose of this grant is to empower Utah communities to become viable, welcoming, and high-quality destinations for tourism.

Participant communities will progress sequentially through three (3) planning programs
designed to assist participants in becoming viable, welcoming, and high-quality destinations for
tourism. The Utah Office of Tourism (UOT), with contracted consulting firms, will work with
participants to ensure that destination development deliverables are actionable, relevant, and
specific to each participant.

Upon successful completion of each program, UOT will continue to work with participants to
encourage plan implementation, reach out to relevant stakeholders and resource providers,
identify funding resources, and prepare participants for the next planning program. For each
participant, UOT will conduct bi-annual follow up reviews to gauge progress for the first three
years.

View more information and application instruction here.

Utah Tourism Industry Honors 2021 Hall of Fame Inductees

Recognizing leaders who have changed the face of Utah’s tourism industry

Ogden, Utah  (September 29, 2021) — the Utah Office of Tourism (UOT) and the Utah Tourism Industry Association (UTIA) honored the 2021 Utah Tourism Hall of Fame inductees at the Utah Tourism Conference, held in-person at the Eccles Conference Center in Ogden, Utah. Utah Tourism Hall of Fame recipients are selected based on their history of contributions to the state’s tourism industry through leadership, long-standing contributions to their region or to the entire state.

“This is an award about recognizing leadership in one of Utah’s largest economic sectors,” said Vicki Varela, managing director of the Utah Office of Tourism.

Beginning in 1985, the Hall of Fame has recognized 121 recipients who have contributed toward improving the national/international recognition of the positive aspects of vacationing in Utah, improved the understanding of Utah residents regarding the attractions of their state and the economic development benefits of tourism for the state, and facilitated efforts of improving the business climate for tourism-related businesses in Utah.

Nominations with strong recommendations from peers and coworkers within the tourism industry identified Sara Toliver, David Williams and Colin Fryer for their dedication to improving their communities, engagement in generating and advocating for funding and community initiatives and helping stimulate tourism and stakeholder business..

“On behalf of the Utah Tourism Industry, it is an honor to recognize these inductees for their timeless and dedicated passion for the industry,” said Natalie Randall, executive director of UTIA. “David, Sara and Colin have been at the forefront of advocating for Utah and its future in the tourism realm. They are all an inspiration for the past, present and future industry leaders in Utah.”

2021 Utah Tourism Hall of Fame Recipients:

Sara Toliver, President/CEO, Visit Ogden 

Sara joined Visit Ogden in 2007 and serves on numerous community boards and committees as well as the Tourism Development Board for the State of Utah, the Utah Tourism Industry Association Executive Committee, the Destination Marketing Association of the West, and the Destinations International Small Bureaus Task Force. Sara has been a driving force behind Ogden’s transformation to a dynamic destination. Her participation in the ensuing redevelopment of this historic district led to Sara’s increased involvement in and passion for the Ogden community. Leading by example, she serves on multiple committees and passionately rolls up her sleeves and gets down to work improving Ogden and Utah tourism as a whole.

David Williams, Associate Managing Director, Utah Office of Tourism 

David M. Williams joined the Utah Travel Council (now known as the Utah Office of Tourism) in September 2003. Having served as Research Coordinator and Deputy Director, he is currently Associate Managing Director and oversees the office’s advertising, co-op marketing, budget and research. Dave was a key architect of the Tourism Marketing Performance Fund (which provides most of the office’s marketing dollars) and is now recognized as one of the best funding plans in the country. He was a key driver in creating the office’s long-standing cooperative marketing program. He has overseen many ad campaigns promoting Utah’s numerous tourism assets including The Greatest Snow on Earth and The Mighty Five national parks. The original Mighty Five campaign was named the best state tourism ad campaign in the nation by the National Council of State Tourism Directors. He served as president of the Greater Western Chapter of the Travel and Tourism Research Association and also served on the Friends of Antelope Island board.

Colin Fryer, Owner, Red Cliffs Lodge 

Colin Fryer owns and operates 4 lodging properties in the Moab area including the Big Horn Lodge, Red Stone Inn, Rustic Inn, Red Cliffs Lodge, Cowboy Grill and Castle Creek Winery. Since his start in the tourism industry, Fryer has become a staple where he chaired the Board of Tourism Development’s marketing committee for 8 years, helped advocate for his area and supported the Utah Life Elevated brand and the launch of The Mighty Five marketing campaign. Colin Fryer has been a key voice within the growth of Utah’s tourism industry. Fryer has quite literally lived out the American dream. He always knew he wanted to grow up to be a rancher even though he knew it would be difficult. While saving up money for his ranch, Fryer learned he had a knack for business and finance, he nurtured his strengths until he was able to open the Red Cliffs Lodge after he discovered the property for sale in Moab on a trip.

High-quality photos can be accessed in Dropbox.

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About Utah Tourism Industry Association (UTIA): The Utah Tourism Industry Association, formally the Utah Tourism Industry Coalition, started over 12 years ago and serves as the umbrella organization and advocate for Utah’s visitor economy. As a 501c6 nonprofit organization, UTIA strives to deliver exceptional value to its members ranging from a variety of tourism sectors. Offered are various member-driven public policy initiatives, business networking opportunities, marketing programs and educational offerings all to help members and the tourism industry succeed today and in the future. UTIA has been long-recognized as the tourism industry’s home base for education, advocacy and networking. UTIA makes it so “Tourism Works.” Follow Utah Tourism Industry Association on Facebook and Instagram.

About the Utah Office of Tourism (UOT): The Utah Office of Tourism’s (UOT) mission is to elevate life in Utah through responsible tourism stewardship. We do this through marketing, stewardship and development. Marketing: UOT curates messaging that inspires visitation, supports local businesses and builds the Utah economy. Stewardship: UOT manages visitation statewide and supports the responsible discovery of Utah. Development: UOT partners with local communities to enhance and develop their visitor economies to benefit residents and visitors. Learn more at visitutah.com and travel.utah.gov