Utah’s great outdoors has seen a record-breaking boost in tourism

A new report shows people flocked to get outdoors and travel following the pandemic — even with rising inflation, including high gasoline prices.

Utah saw a record-breaking year when it came to travel and tourism income in 2022. “Visitors spent a record $11.98 billion in 2022, which led to $23.38 billion in total output for Utah’s economy when combined with indirect and induced effects,” the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute reported.

A surge in tourism helps the state’s economy flourish, as it increases in job demands and income for local businesses.

“Visitor spending, tax and hotel revenue, airport travel, park visitation, and skier days have all surpassed or nearly surpassed previous records, which all help boost Utah’s elite economy and sustain the economic vitality of the region,” said Jennifer Leaver, senior tourism analyst for the Gardner Institute.

Where are tourists flocking to?

Carmen Holbrook has been to four out of the five national parks in Utah and countless state and recreational parks in the last year. Not originally from Utah, Holbrook said she’s making up for lost time and really taking advantage of being a local in such a beautiful state.

“You just need a little bit of grit and an eye for beauty, and then just go outside, and you will find it immediately,” she said. “You don’t have to go far.”

According to the report, “Utah’s Mighty 5 national parks reported 10.6 million visitors, and state parks reported a record 12 million visitors in 2023. In addition, Utah’s national places, including monuments, recreation areas and historic sites, reported a record 7.3 million visitors in 2023. Utah’s year-over national park and state park visitation were up 1.2% and 20.7%, respectively.”

Holbrook, who lives in Alpine, Utah, with her husband, said it shocks her when she meets longtime residents who have never traveled to any of the state’s national parks.

“I just think it’s crazy that they’ve never gone to experience them, but it’s because they also live in a beautiful spot; they don’t need to go to Arches to see the beauty of the earth because they have Timpanogos mountain right there in their front yard,” Holbrook said. “I mean, there are literally so many beautiful places — like hot springs and waterfalls — but they don’t feel the need to go see it because they have all this beauty constantly around them.”

That being said, tourists have taken full advantage of Utah’s recreational wonders like Lake Powell. “Visitation to Utah’s national places set a new record in 2023 with 7.3 million combined visits. This record was due in large part to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area’s 83.2% year-over increase from 2.8 million to 5.2 million visitors,” the report found.

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Working in Utah’s tourism industry

The surge in tourism boosted the job market in Utah. The tourism and travel industry produced 98,000 jobs in 2022.

“The industry’s economic activity supported an additional 53,200 jobs through indirect and induced effects,” the report added. “About 9.0% of Utah’s total jobs were either directly or indirectly supported by visitor spending.”

Matt Kendall began working at Sundance Ski Resort a year ago but told the Deseret News he has been affiliated with the resort for around six years and has been skiing there for nearly 20.

Sundance Ski Resort, along with the rest of the ski industry, had exceptional success due to record snowfall last season. “Utah boasted record snowfall (903”), skier days (7.1 million), and spending ($2.64 billion) during the 2022-2023 ski season,” according to the report.

Working on the mountain, Kendall gets to see firsthand tourists’ experiences of being surrounded by Utah’s beauty. “It’s an intimate atmosphere that is absolutely special and something that everyone can relate to,” he said.

“What sets Utah apart from every other tourist location is the density and the options of things that you can do here and the quality of those things, too,” Kendall added. “We have world-class skiing 15, 20, 30 minutes from our houses, we have world-class fishing, we have world-class rock climbing, we have we have lakes, we have mountains, we have as beautiful of scenery as any other tourist locations, but we have such a high density of it so close it’s all right within arm’s reach.”