The Utah Office of Tourism Awards Over $4 Million to Local Tourism Organizations
$200,000 awarded to statewide partners to promote responsible travel
SALT LAKE CITY, UT (August 11, 2021) –– The Utah Board of Tourism Development has approved more than $4 million in cooperative marketing grants for 66 travel-related nonprofits in 22 counties throughout the state. The Co-op fund creates a partnership between the Utah Office of Tourism (UOT) and Utah’s local destination marketing organizations, including convention and visitor bureaus, chambers of commerce, events, festivals, and regional tourism organizations, to increase visitor spending in the state through marketing. Established in 2005, the Co-Op fund has since successfully funded 877 applications totaling $48,208,574 to local non-profit tourism organizations, extending the state’s brand to $96,417,147 in out-of-state marketing dollars.
“We are thrilled to see so many inspiring projects take shape,” said Kym Buttschardt, UOT Co-op Marketing Committee Chair. “This kind of community partnership is key to ensuring our treasured places and vibrant communities remain forever mighty.”
For the first time in the co-op history, $200,000 has been dedicated to local and regional responsible travel marketing initiatives under the Forever Mighty Co-Op Program. Forever Mighty is the public-facing initiative to accomplish goals of the UOT’s Red Emerald Strategic Plan. The Forever Mighty initiative encourages travelers to explore Utah thoughtfully and safely by being well prepared, aware of our delicate ecosystems and engaged with the local communities they are visiting. Forever Mighty also aims to inspire residents, visitors, businesses and stakeholders to take an active role in preserving and enriching Utah through advocacy, ambassadorship and stewardship opportunities.
“We are working to build something that is better for Utah visitors and Utah residents,” said Vicki Varela, managing director of the Utah Office of Tourism (UOT). “The Forever Mighty pilot program is intended to spark locally-led initiatives to encourage thoughtful and responsible exploration of our beautiful state.”
2021 Forever Mighty Co-Op awardees include projects ranging from San Juan County responsible recreation initiative aimed at building the repository of Recreate and Visit Responsibly collateral and Ski Utah’s diversity and inclusion social media initiative to, Garfield County’s stewardship initiative with Leave No Trace Center for Public Ethics and Visit Ogden’s “Pledge for the Wild” initiative. Additional promotions include an archaeological festival in Carbon County, a responsible UTV campaign in Piute County and more regional stewardship collaborations.
View - Round 2021 Traditional Co-op Awards
View - Round 2021 Forever Mighty Awards
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About the Utah Office of Tourism
The Utah Office of Tourism's (UOT) mission is to elevate life in Utah through responsible tourism stewardship. We do this through marketing, stewardship and development. Marketing: UOT curates messaging that inspires visitation, supports local businesses and builds the Utah economy. Stewardship: UOT manages visitation statewide and supports the responsible discovery of Utah. Development: UOT partners with local communities to enhance and develop their visitor economies to benefit residents and visitors. Learn more at visitutah.com and travel.utah.gov.
