Money Wasted Encouraging Tourism in Utah

Money Wasted Encouraging Tourism in Utah

– By Lisa Rutherford –

 I recently saw a post on Facebook by someone who does a lot of hiking in Utah’s great outdoors. I used to do more exploring than I do now and am glad of that because it’s so disgusting to hear from others about the damage being done to our public lands.

The Facebook post noted, “Every single day I hike, I see garbage, fire pits, used toilet paper strewn through and under trees and bushes, graffiti on petroglyphs and other places. Pistachio shells, orange and banana peels. Rocks stacked everywhere. And the worst? The colored rocks. Illegal ATV trails and riders that throw their beer and soda cans in the bushes and the damage that they do the (sic) the habitat and the land. Creating new trails. They forget about all the animals that live there. Balloons and Walmart bags are strewn about. There’s more but you get the gist.”

This concerned person wrote that perhaps the worst seen was the racial graffiti in a beautiful slot canyon.

During the pandemic people were encouraged to get out and enjoy the great outdoors, but I did not see much published about how they should properly conduct themselves. Friends who appreciate these special places are becoming increasingly concerned about the abuse they are seeing.

What’s the answer? Certainly, there must be more education starting with the youngest kids but we must make our teenagers aware of how to conduct themselves. What lessons are parents teaching their kids? If the parents aren’t doing it then it must be done in the schools. How are we getting this information to our visitors? Apparently, money is flowing to promote not to educate.

Back in 2013 state money started flowing to encourage visitation to our parks. Well, that’s certainly done the job. Now they’re overcrowded and damage is getting out of hand.

Back on August 23, 2013 a Spectrum editorial focused on the money that was being spent to promote tourism. More than $500,000 was distributed by the Utah Office of Tourism to promote Southern Utah alone. Also, the Utah Office of Tourism board, according to the article, voted to issue $2.5 million to help boost tourism to help area economies.  $224,250 was plunked down on the St. George Convention and Tourism Office to promote a variety of St. George events.  Tuacahn Center for the Arts received $112,500 for their “Broadway in the Desert” shows. The purpose of all this was to showcase our area and our state. The promoters were giddy about how all this would benefit our state and county economically. Well, boy, they sure have done that, but now we are faced with the negative aspects of all the marketing. Guess they didn’t think about that in the midst of all their enthusiasm!

Even before the pandemic crowds at Zion had grown out of control and damage was being seen elsewhere on our public lands. In 2015 The Spectrum reported that, “A large majority of Utahns are willing to pay for investment in recreation facilities as the state grows, but they’d largely prefer not to share those new facilities with tourists, according to survey results released this week.” The survey referenced was “Your Utah, Your Future” conducted by Envision Utah. By that time, just two years after the money started flowing, people were already less sure about actively promoting tourism and yet that effort continued. Envision Utah’s CEO Robert Grow noted that there was no statewide plan regarding outdoor recreation and the survey showed one is needed. Given the damage caused by Utahns themselves, that’s very true! Survey participants were split on how to pay for this but perhaps if we take the money that currently flows into promoting Utah and use that money to protect Utah that would help.

My recent review of Utah Office of Tourism board meetings reveals a much larger emphasis on upping tourist numbers and raking in the dollars than dealing with protecting the golden goose. Encouraging tourists to find “hidden gems” was mentioned several times.

According to the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Institute report The State of Utah’s Travel and Tourism Industry, 2018, since 1998 Utah National Park and Place Visitation numbers have increased from 10 million recreation visits to over 17 million in 2018. The information provided by the National Park Service does not include visitation data for Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area and Bears Ears National Monument. Of the over 17 million in 2018, nearly 11 million visited Utah’s “Big Five” national parks with the highest total numbers in Zion and the highest increases in Arches, Bryce and Capitol Reef.

The Gardner report shows that state parks have also seen a tremendous increase in numbers. From 2017 to 2018 alone there was a 17.9% increase including 43,000 more visitors at Snow Canyon State Park, a 14.4% increase. Given the numbers we’ve witnessed during the pandemic one can only guess what the total will be when the new reports come out. The report is all about money and numbers. I saw no reference to the damage that is being inflicted on our public lands by all this effort to promote and market Utah.

More recent information shows that Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, Hovenweep NM, and Natural Bridges NM tourism actually decreased in 2020 compared to 2019 numbers but that will not hold now that the administration has thrown the door wide open for “post-COVID” activities.

I completely understand that people are tired of being cooped up and want to get out and enjoy themselves. But that does not mean they should be allowed to damage those areas they visit. What kind of thinking is that? Or not thinking? Must people leave their mark wherever they go? Are their lives so lacking that’s the only way they can leave a legacy that they existed? Already as I write this article the park service is scrambling to figure out how to deal with the crowds that will descend on Zion, Arches and other precious places over Memorial Day weekend. These public lands belong to all of us but when some feel they have the right to damage it makes it difficult for all. The Utah Office of Tourism gets about $25 million annually to promote our state. Let’s refocus use of that money because I’ve heard nearly all Utah officials say that Utah is growing and people are coming. They don’t need encouragement!

Viewpoints and perspectives expressed throughout The Independent are those of the individual contributors. They do not necessarily reflect those held by the staff of The Independent or our advertising sponsors. Your comments, rebuttals, and contributions are welcome in accordance with our Terms of Service. Please be respectful and abide by our Community Rules. If you have privacy concerns you can view our Privacy Policy here. Thank you! 

Click here to submit an article, guest opinion piece, or a Letter to the Editor