The State of Utah’s

Travel and Tourism Industry

2017STATEWIDE INDICATORS 2014 2015

Change 2014-2015

Utah Population 2,997,404 3,054,806 1.9%

Employment, Spending & Wages

Estimated Traveler Spending $7,982 $8,169 2.3%

Total Employment, All Industries1 (Private Sector) 1,097,465 1,144,235 4.3%

Total Wages, All Industries2 (Private Sector, $ millions) $46,645 $50,177 7.6%

Total Tourism-Related Employment 137,200 142,500 3.9%

Total Tourism-Related Wages ($ millions) $3,936 $4,280 8.7%

Total Leisure & Hospitality Employment (Private Sector) 128,067 133,660 4.4%

Total Leisure & Hospitality Wages (Private Sector, $ millions) $2,195 $2,407 9.7%

Leisure & Hospitality Share of Total Employment (Private Sector) 11.7% 11.7% 0.0%

Total Leisure & Hospitality Taxable Sales ($ millions) $6,035 $6,833 13.2%

Utah Accommodations Industry

Hotel/Motel Occupancy Rates3 61.8% 64.4% 4.2%

Hotel/Motel Average Daily Rate4 $102.05 $107.80 5.6%

Hotel/Motel Revenue Per Available Room5 $62.26 $68.44 9.9%

Accommodations Industry Employment (Private) 19,270 19,802 2.8%

Accommodations Industry Wages (Private, $ millions) $446 $487 9.2%

Accommodations - Taxable Sales ($ millions) $1,406 $1,571 11.7%

Tourism-Related Tax Revenues ($ millions)

Total TRCC Tax Revenue $58.3 $61.9 6.1%

Total TRT Tax Revenue (County & Municipality) $51.0 $56.3 10.4%

Total Motor Vehichle Rental Tax Revenue $5.3 $5.4 9.2%

Total Resort Communities Sales Tax Revenue $18.9 $20.4 8.1%

Statewide Visitation Counts

Utah Skier Days 3,946,762 4,457,575 12.9%

Total National Park Recreation Visits 7,239,149 8,369,533 15.6%

Arches National Park 1,284,767 1,399,247 8.9%

Bryce Canyon National Park 1,435,741 1,745,804 21.6%

Canyonlands National Park 542,431 634,607 17.0%

Capitol Reef National Park 786,514 941,029 19.6%

Zion National Park 3,189,696 3,648,846 14.4%

Total National Place Recreation Visits6 4,615,945 4,862,902 5.4%

Salt Lake International Airport - Total Passengers 21,141,610 22,141,026 4.7%

Utah Amtrak Passenger Rail - Total Ridership (Federal FY) 51,470 46,081 -10.5%

Accommodations

Sources: Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, U.S. Travel Association, Utah Department of Workforce Services, STR, Inc., U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Utah State Tax Commission, Ski Utah, National Park Service, Utah Office of Tourism, S.L.C. International Airport, Amtrak.

1 Employment includes annual average employee full- and part-time private jobs (does not include proprietors).2 Wages includes annual average full- and part-time employee wages (does not include proprietors).3, 4, 5 Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute analysis of STR, Inc., data. Republication or other pre-use of this data without the express

written permission of STR is strictly prohibited.6 Visitation data for Flaming Gorge NRA is not included.

Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute411 East South Temple I Salt Lake City, UT 84111 I www.gardner.utah.edu

AN INITIATIVE OF THE DAVID ECCLES SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Taxable accommodation sales indicate trends in traveler and tourist spending across the state. In 2015, $1.57 billion was spent on accommodations in the state of Utah, a 40 percent increase from 2007. Accommodations include

hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, campgrounds and similar businesses.

Based on hotel and lodging data provided by Smith Travel Research, Utah’s average occupancy rates experienced year-over-year increases in all 12 months of 2015, with the greatest increases reported in March, June and July. Utah hotels’ average daily rates and revenue per available room surpassed 2014 figures as well.

Average Daily Room Rates by Top Travel and Tourism Counties

County 2015 2014 % Change

Garfield-San Juan-Wayne $100.04 $96.73 3.4%

Grand $132.99 $121.25 9.7%

Salt Lake $104.52 $98.06 6.6%

Summit-Wasatch $230.72 $217.71 6.0%

Washington $100.93 $97.65 3.4%

Source: STR, Inc. Republication or other pre-use of this data without the express written permission of STR is strictly prohibited.

Source: STR, Inc. Republication or other pre-use of this data without the express written permission of STR is strictly prohibited.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2014 2015

Average Statewide Occupancy Rates by Month

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Total Taxable Accommodations Sales ($ millions of 2015 dollars)

Total Taxable Accommodations Sales$ millions of 2015 dollars

Source: Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute Analysis of Utah State Tax Commission data.

$1,125 $1,135

$989 $1,094

$1,215 $1,285

$1,346 $1,411

$1,571

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Source: Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute analysis of Utah State Tax Commission data

Tooele13.8%

San Juan21.6%

Millard10.9%

Kane43.4%

Juab11.3%

Emery12.0%

Box Elder9.8%

Iron18.3%

Uintah11.3%

Gar�eld55.7%

Grand45.7%

Wayne36.2%

Beaver19.1%

Utah9.3%

Duchesne6.6%

Sevier13.5%

Rich 33.5%Weber 11.2%Davis 12.9%Morgan 13.2%

Summit40.3%

Sanpete11.4%

Washington17.5%

Carbon11.5%

Cache11.0%

Piute25.0%

Wasatch19.8%

Salt Lake9.9%

Daggett 48.8%

Total Tourism-Generated Jobs

Visitors and Spending Tax RevenueTravel and Tourism-Related Employment

In 2015, tourists and travelers spent a record $8.17 billion in Utah. Of that total spending, $6.98 billion was attributed to nonresident

visitors who spent the majority of their dollars on traveling within the state (including gaso-line purchases, car rentals, transportation fares and parking), lodging in paid accommodations and dining. Additional nonresident visitor pur-chases included retail items and groceries, as well as arts, entertainment and recreation-re-lated activities.

The majority of Utah’s domestic nonresident visitation came from western states like California, Idaho and Nevada. In 2015, Utah’s largest international markets were Canada, China and France.

Utah’s ski resorts reported a record number of skier days during the 2015-2016 ski season (4.5 million) and Utah’s five national parks experienced a record 8.4 million visits in 2015. Preliminary National Park Service data indicates there were more than 10 million recreation visits to Utah national parks in 2016.

Utah Total Skier Days and National Park Recreation Visits (millions)

nNational Park VisitsnSkier Days

Sources: U.S. National Park Service and Ski Utah

Private Leisure and Hospitality Sector Jobs as a Percent of Total Private Employment, 2015

Growth in Private Leisure and Hospitality Employment, Top Ten Counties, 2011-2015Rich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.4%Morgan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29.4%Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.0%Daggett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26.9%Kane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.6%Grand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.5%Cache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.2%Davis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.4%Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.2%Salt Lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.5%

Source: Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute analysis of Utah Department of Workforce Services data

Source: Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics dataNote: Includes private and public jobs and economic multiplier effects.

Direct visitor spending of $8.17 billion in 2015 generated a record $1.15 billion in estimated total

tax revenue, of which $660.7 million was state and $488.9 million was local tax revenue.

A significant portion of Utah’s total travel and tourism-generated tax revenue is composed of a variety of tourism-related state and local tax revenues. These include Utah’s Tourism, Recreation, Cultural, and Convention Tax (comprising restaurant, motor vehicle leasing and Salt Lake County room rental tax); Transient Room Tax (both county and municipal); a statewide Motor Vehicle Rental Tax; the Zoo, Arts and Parks Tax; and Resort Communities Sales Tax (qualifying municipalities). Total tourism-related sales tax revenue grew 7 percent between 2014 and 2015 and has grown 46 percent since 2011.

The counties of Sanpete, Weber, Tooele, Rich and Cache had the greatest year-over-year increases in transient room tax from 2014 to 2015. Salt Lake County collected the most transient room tax revenues ($16.5 million), followed by Summit County ($7.7 million) and Washington County ($5.6 million).

Travel and tourism-related employment includes jobs in transportation, accommodations, restaurants, the arts, entertainment and recreation industries and retail. In 2015, Utah reported approximately 76,500 direct travel and tourism jobs —

a 4 percent increase over 2014 — and ranked ninth as a major industry in Utah. One out of every 10 Utah jobs was supported by tourism and travel.

Although data are unavailable to estimate travel and tourism-related jobs on a county-by-county basis, it is possible to analyze total leisure and hospitality jobs as a share of total jobs in each county. Around 65 percent of all travel and tourism jobs are part of the leisure and hospitality sector while the rest are categorized under a variety of other sectors, including retail trade, transportation and information. In 2015, counties with the largest share of private leisure and hospitality jobs to total private jobs were Garfield, Daggett, Grand, Kane, Summit, Wayne and Rich.

Total County Transient Room Tax, Top Ten Counties, 2015 ($ millions)

Total Tourism-Generated Tax Revenue, 2015

nState $660.7 Million

nLocal $488.9 Million

$1.15 Billion

Total Direct Visitor Spending ($ millions)

Source: U.S. Travel Association* Includes resident, domestic nonresident and international visitors

Total Direct Visitor Spending*, 2011-2015$ millions of 2015 dollars

Source: Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute analysis of U.S. Travel Association data

*includes resident, domestic nonresident and international visitors

$6,955 $7,318 $7,507 $7,982 $8,169

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Share of Total Visitors by State, 2015

Source: TNS Global

Share of Total Domestic Visitors by State, 2015

Source: TNS Global

Arizona 3%

Colorado 3%

Washington 4%

Nevada 5%

Idaho 8%

California 11%

Utah 42%

Other 24%

Share of Estimated International Visitor Visa Card Spending by Country

Canada

China

France

Germany

U.K.

Mexico

Australia

19.3%

9.4%

6.0%

5.3%

5.2%

4.7%

3.3%

24.4%

7.9%

7.4%

7.0%

5.6%

5.0%

3.9%

Visa spending by Chinese leisure visitors in Utah increased by 39.8% between 2014 and 2015.

Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute’s estimates are based on and extrapolated from aggregate depersonalized card usage data provided by VisaVue® Travel for the calendar years of 2014 and 2015.

Utah Total Skier Days and National Park Recreation Visits(millions)

Source: Ski Utah and the U.S. National Park Service

5.3 5.0 5.2 5.0

5.3 5.3 5.2 5.5 5.7

6.0 6.1 6.3 6.6 6.3

7.2

8.4

3.3 3.0 3.1

3.4 3.9 4.1 4.1 4.3

4.0 4.1 4.2 3.8 4.0 4.1 4.0

4.5

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

National Park Visits Skier Days

Total Tourism-Generated Jobs*

Source: Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data

124,500

138,800 136,900 125,400 125,000 126,800 129,600 132,700 137,200 142,500

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

n2015n2014

Total Tourism-Related Tax Revenue ($ millions of 2015 dollars)

nStatewide Motor Vehicle Rental TaxnResort Communities Sales Tax nTransient Room TaxnZoo, Arts, Parks TaxnTourism, Recreation, Cultural,

and Convention Tax

Total Tourism-Related Tax Revenue$ millions of 2015 dollars

Source: Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute analysis of Utah State Tax Commission data

$121.3

2011

$139.6

2012

$151.2

2013

$166.1

2014

$178.1

2015

Statewide Car Rental Resort Communities Sales Tax

Transient Room Tax Zoo, Arts, Parks

Tourism, Recreation, Cultural, and Convention

Annual Percent Change in Transient Room Tax Revenue*, 2014-2015

Salt Lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $16.5Summit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7.7Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5.6Grand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3.9Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2.9Kane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1.9Garfield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1.6Wasatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1.5Davis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1.5Weber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1.4

*Includes County TRT and Municipal TRT Source (all above figures): Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute analysis of Utah State Tax Commission data

Note: Includes economic multiplier effects

Tooele20.2%

San Juan8.9%

Millard11.6%

Kane11.7%

Juab0.4%

Emery9.9%

Box Elder18.7%

Iron8.1%

Uintah-24.9%

Gar�eld13.8%

Grand15.2%

Wayne15.2%

Beaver11.2%

Utah17.7%

Duchesne-19.6%

Sevier16.4%

Summit12.9%

Sanpete25.1%

Washington11.3%

Carbon-6.0%

Cache19.5%

Piute3.9%

Wasatch6.9%

Salt Lake14.7%

Rich 20.0%Weber 20.5%Davis 10.9%Morgan 2.2%

Daggett 10.8%