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.