|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What's New
Press Releases & Newsletters
Receive the latest issue of the Utah Office of Tourism “Industry Updates”. Subscribe here …
Industry Toolkit: Dark Skies Edition 2023
Included In This Toolkit In collaboration and celebration with Governor Cox declaring April 2023 …
2023 Tourism Hall of Fame Nominations
The Utah Tourism Hall of Fame is presented by the Utah Tourism Industry Association …
UOT Industry Toolkit: Leave No Trace Edition
Included In This Toolkit The Utah Office of Tourism has partnered with Leave No …
New EDA Grant Opportunities
UOT is pleased to offer four new opportunities designed to help Destination Marketing Organizations …
2022 Co-op Program Accepting Applications
The Utah Office of Tourism’s Co-op marketing program is now open for accepting applications …
Press Releases & Newsletters
Receive the latest issue of the Utah Office of Tourism “Industry Updates”. Subscribe here
2023 Industry Newsletters
05/31/2023 – UOT Marketing Co-op Program Now Open
04/05/2023 – Utah Specialist Academy Launch
02/22/2023 – Camille Johnson Named UOT Director of Community and Partner Relations
02/13/2023 – UOT Staff and Campaign Updates
01/25/2023 – Utah Office of Tourism Industry Toolkit
Press Releases
04/04/2023 – The Utah Office of Tourism Celebrates Governor Cox’s Third Annual Declaration of Dark Sky Month
03/6/2023 – Utah Office of Tourism Receives Recognition for Strategy Driven Marketing
01/26/2023 – James Beard Foundation Names 11 Utah Restaurants and Chefs Semifinalists for Annual Awards
01/25/2023 – Utah Office of Tourism Partners With Leave No Trace to Encourage Responsible Recreation Practices
01/25/2023 – With Near-Record Snowfall, Utah’s 2022-23 Ski Season is Off to an Exceptional Start
2022
01/03/2022 – U.S. Commercial Services Webinar
01/11/2022 – Building a More Resilient Tourism Industry in Utah
02/01/2022 – Ways to Engage in 2022
02/24/2022 – Industry Training Program Announcement
03/15/2022 – Southern Utah+ Campaign 2022
03/22/2022 – Utah Office of Tourism Industry Toolkit
03/24/2022 – How to Educate New-to-Nature Tourists
03/28/2022 – The Utah Office of Tourism Encourages Advanced Planning Ahead of Arches National Park Timed Entry Pilot Program Launch
03/28/2022 – Arches National Park Timed Entry Update
04/01/2022 – Utah Office of Tourism Celebrates April as Official Dark Sky Month
04/01/2022 – Utah Office of Tourism Industry Toolkit
04/07/2022 – Final International Market Insights Webinar
04/12/2022 – Angels Landing Permit Update
04/14/2022 – Northern Utah+ Campaign 2022
04/29/2022 – UOT Shares Results of Resident Survey
05/02/2022 – How to Prepare for the Return of International Visitors
05/10/2022 – Utah Resident Survey Finds Broad Support of Tourism Economy, with Concerns from Highly Impacted Communities
05/25/2022 – UOT Marketing Co-op Program Now Open
07/13/2022 – Legislative Changes to the UOT
07/28/2022 – Primer on the Utah Office of Tourism
08/04/2022 – New Destination Development Funding
08/12/2022 – The Utah Office of Tourism Awards Over $5.2 Million to Local Tourism Organizations
08/15/2022 – 2022 UOT Marketing Co-op Program
08/29/2022 – Utah Office of Tourism, Utah Tourism Industry Association Announces Dates, Itinerary for 2022 Utah Tourism Conference
09/21/2022 – Saturday, Sept. 24th, is National Public Lands Day – Utah’s Mighty 5 National Parks to have free entry
09/30/2022 – Utah Tourism Industry Honors 2022 Hall of Fame Inductees
10/11/2022 – International Campaign Founded on Conservation and Stewardship Initiatives to be Launched by Utah Office of Tourism
10/27/2022 – Utah Makes National Geographic’s Coveted “Best of the World List” for 2023
11/03/2022 – Utah’s Ski Season Arrives with Earliest Opening Ever at Brian Head Resort
11/03/2022 – UOT Staff Updates
12/22/2022 – 12/22/2022 – Happy Holidays from the Utah Office of Tourism
Industry Toolkit: Dark Skies Edition 2023
Included In This Toolkit
In collaboration and celebration with Governor Cox declaring April 2023 Utah’s third official Dark Sky Month, the Utah Office of Tourism has updated 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
- 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 and links below to access these resources and more!
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
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 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 15-22, 2023
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 15-22, 2023. 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
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.
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.
2023 Tourism Hall of Fame Nominations
|
The Utah Tourism Hall of Fame is presented by the Utah Tourism Industry Association and the Utah Office of Tourism. Recipients are nominated by their peers and selected annually 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 annually recognized individuals who have elevated life in Utah through their leadership in tourism marketing, stewardship, and destination management. |
|
|
|
|
All nominations are due by Friday, April 22, 2023 |
|
|
Nominations will be reviewed and a final selection will be made by July 1st. Nominees will be recognized at the 2023 Utah Tourism Conference in St George at the Dixie Conference Center during an award breakfast on Friday, September 29th. You can view prior year’s nominees here. |
|
UOT Industry Toolkit: Leave No Trace Edition
Included In This Toolkit
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.
Click each of the boxes below to access the toolkit content!
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
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.
Leave No Trace Online Courses
Industry Courses
Leave No Trace: Hospitality, Retail and Stewardship in Utah
Provides hospitality, retail, restaurants, breweries and similar industries with a better understanding of Utah’s recreation-related impacts and the Forever Mighty and Leave No Trace resources. Staff at all levels will learn effective ways that your businesses can promote Utah’s stewardship messaging to visitors, guests, and customers. All those who complete the course will receive a professional certificate of completion.
Leave No Trace: Visitor Centers and Responsible Recreation in Utah
Provides Utah Visitor Center staff and volunteers training on sharing Forever Mighty and Leave No Trace’s educational message with visitors and travelers, many of whom are unaware of the negative impacts that can result from outdoor recreation. All those who complete the course will receive a professional certificate of completion.
Consumer Course
Leave No Trace: Take Action to Protect Utah’s Outdoors
Utah is known for its vast, open landscapes where all types of outdoor recreation are welcomed. Learn about Utah’s Leave No Trace principles and how responsible recreation can help us all protect the outdoor places we love. If you’re planning to spend time outdoors during your trip to Utah, this short online course is for you!
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.
New EDA Grant Opportunities
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.
2022 Co-op Program Accepting Applications
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.
UOT Industry Toolkit: Dark Skies Edition 2022
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.
UOT Industry Toolkit: Agritourism Edition
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.
2022 Utah Tourism Hall of Fame Nominations
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.
Settings