A four-day industry event advocating tourism as an important aspect of Utah’s economy

The Utah Tourism Conference returns for 2021

Ogden, Utah (July 1, 2021) — The Utah Tourism Industry Association (UTIA) and the Utah Office of Tourism (UOT) are partnering to produce the state’s premier, annual tourism conference, August 10–13, 2021 in Ogden, Utah at the Ogden Eccles Conference Center. The return of this conference celebrates the Utah tourism industry’s resilience and innovation through the pandemic. According to Kem C. Gardner, in 2019, Utah was seeing a record-breaking visitor spend of $10.6 billion into the economy. Continuing down the trajectory of high visitor spending was lost with the onslaught of COVID-19. However, with efforts made by all, since April 2020, Utah’s leisure and hospitality sector jobs have recovered at a faster rate than the U.S. leisure and hospitality employment. To celebrate the industry’s resilience to prove that Tourism Works™ and has continued to recover over the last several months, UTIA and UOT encourage stakeholders, leaders and tourism professionals to register for the Utah Tourism Conference.

“The pandemic challenged Utah’s small businesses -- guides and outfitters, hoteliers, restaurants, retailers — to innovate in order to survive” said Vicki Varela, Managing Director of Utah Office of Tourism. “Our industry is more focused than ever on creating a perpetual tourism economy by focusing on the quality of the experience for the visitor and hosting communities.” 

Attendees will learn from industry experts from around the country, collaborate with peers and  gain a deeper understanding of why Tourism Works™. While in Ogden, a unique destination with diverse outdoor, art, culture and dining offerings, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a Forever Mighty service project, several destination discovery activities, experience Ogden’s culinary and art scenes and participate in rich breakout sessions including Red Emerald, Forever Mighty, One Utah, Marketing/PR and a Greatest Hits repeat session of the most relevant topics. Finally, the conference will culminate with the announcement of the Utah Tourism Hall of Fame inductees and keynote speaker Clint Pulver 

“We are thrilled to celebrate the return of our annual conference and Utah's resilient tourism industry, ” said Natalie Randall, executive director at UTIA. “In the past, this conference has brought the best tourism industry professionals together. This year we rally together as an industry, and have encompassed the Governor’s One Utah vision in curating breakout sessions and keynotes that lend a cause for thinking beyond the walls of our industry and being a catalyst for partnerships with other sectors.”

The goal of the 2021 Utah Tourism Conference is to inspire the tourism industry to engage in advocacy, stewardship, marketing and sustainable growth. Members and non-members of UTIA are encouraged to join the industry in a more holistic view of how tourism contributes to broader economic development, community development and outdoor recreation. 

To learn more about the annual Utah Tourism Conference, visit utahtourismconference.com. Register here and book your stay at one of two hotels offering a conference block rate. 

Follow Utah Tourism Industry Association on Facebook and Instagram. 

Follow Visit Utah on Facebook and Instagram. 

High-quality photos can be accessed in Dropbox.

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About Utah Tourism Industry Association (UTIA): The Utah Tourism Industry Association, formally the Utah Tourism Industry Coalition, started over 12 years ago and serves as the umbrella organization and advocate for Utah’s visitor economy. As a 501c6 nonprofit organization, UTIA strives to deliver exceptional value to its members ranging from a variety of tourism sectors. Offered are various member-driven public policy initiatives, business networking opportunities, marketing programs and educational offerings all to help members and the tourism industry succeed today and in the future. UTIA has been long-recognized as the tourism industry’s home base for education, advocacy and networking. UTIA makes it so “Tourism Works.”

About the Utah Office of Tourism (UOT): 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