Destination Development

Developed in partnership with Utah’s Own, this toolkit includes agritourism-related resources and assets for our industry partners to utilize and share, with an Agritourism Industry Guide, sharable digital content from VisitUtah.com, UOT’s image library, and Utah’s Own producer list.

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 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.

Dark sky-related resources and assets for our tourism industry partners to utilize include a beginner’s guide, an Astrotourism Industry Guide, sharable digital content from VisitUtah.com, and UOT’s image library.

Utah Dark Sky Month Declaration – From the Office of Governor Spencer J. Cox
Governor Cox declared the month of April as Utah Dark Sky Month for the third consecutive year. The Dark Sky Month 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 communities.

Celebrate International Dark Sky Week – April 2-8, 2024
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 2-8, 2024. This is an exciting opportunity to create interest and bring new people into the dark sky movement.

Utah State Parks – Dark Sky Events and Programming
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.

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. 

Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism – Dark Sky Passport Program
The Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism at Utah State University has developed a fun, new way to experience Utah’s dark skies with the Dark Sky Passport. Order your passport then visit a Dark Sky Place where you can see the stars, enjoy the great outdoors at night, and connect with the cosmos. Complete the activities in the passport, get your passport stamped, and share your experience. You’ll then receive an official Dark Sky Passport Certificate you can proudly display. And make sure you visit the organization’s More Dark Sky Activities webpage for additional information and activities.

Resorts Can Now Become Dark-Sky Certified
Under Canvas Lake Powell-Grand Staircase was recently recognized as the first  DarkSky Approved Lodging location for its distinguished sky quality. Developed in partnership with Under Canvas, the DarkSky Lodging certification program sets a new standard in the travel industry, encouraging hospitality companies to join in DarkSky’s efforts to protect the night sky from light pollution. Read more about the program here.

The Utah Office of Tourism has partnered with Leave No Trace to encourage responsible recreation practices. For over 25 years, the Leave No Trace organization has been working to educate and inform everyone who spends time outside about key practices for responsible recreation. Leave No Trace is most widely known for its Seven Principles, which have been customized to address Utah’s unique recreational challenges and adapted to complement the Forever Mighty® campaign.

This toolkit was created with a variety of marketing elements that will help you share this important message with visitors and residents. It includes printed materials, social media posts, video and photo series and online educational courses.

Terms of Use Agreement
By accessing and downloading the content included in the Utah Office of Tourism’s Leave No Trace Toolkit, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions of the sublicense agreement.

Social Media Assets
The Utah Office of Tourism has partnered with Sparkloft Media to create social media assets featuring the Utah Leave No Trace Seven Principles for our tourism industry stakeholders to customize and use.

Assets include:

• Templates for an Instagram Post Carousel
• Templates for an Instagram Story
• Forever Mighty and Leave No Trace Instagram Sticker/GIF

To get started, we recommend you watch the linked pre-recorded workshop on how to customize and share these social media assets on your own channels.

2023 Press Release
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — JAN. 25, 2023 — The Utah Office of Tourism (UOT) is reminding all to allow Utah to remain Forever Mighty® through its new partnership with the environmental stewardship organization Leave No Trace. Read more.

Leave No Trace Online Trainings