Office of Tourism reports fund structure, resident sentiment and marketing priorities

Natalie Randall, managing director of the Utah Office of Tourism, briefed the Economic and Community Development Appropriation Subcommittee on Oct. 14, 2025, on the structure and recent performance of the Tourism Marketing Performance Fund and the office’s current marketing and stewardship strategy.

The fund matters because tourism dollars circulate through local businesses, support state and local tax revenue, and underwrite marketing and stewardship efforts the office says help spread visitation across the state.

What the office presented

Randall described the fund’s current allocation: 10 percent automatically goes to the Utah Sports Commission, 20 percent finances the office’s cooperative marketing grant program for local communities, and the remaining 70 percent supports statewide marketing, development and stewardship work. She told the committee that reductions in recent budgets have trimmed the tourism marketing performance fund by about $2.5 million from prior levels and that, excluding the COVID period, the fund is at its lowest level in nearly a decade.

Randall summarized data points the office uses to track industry health and community impacts. Among the figures the office cited during the presentation:

- "One in 11 Utah jobs" is tied to tourism, and tourism accounts for roughly one in 10 state tax dollars and one in seven local tax dollars, according to the office’s statistics.
- Resident sentiment research (survey work begun in 2022) shows 78 percent of residents recognize tourism as a key piece of a diverse economy and 63 percent say the benefits outweigh inconveniences; the office characterized 63 percent as the highest favorable score to date.
- The office said its recent “In Love in Utah” campaign influenced approximately 1.4 million trips and that visitors who respond to targeted advertising tend to spend more, plan ahead, and encourage additional visitation.

Nut graf — why this matters

The office argued that marketing shapes the type and timing of visitors and that continued investment is needed to maintain Utah’s standing as a destination, spread visitation to emerging destinations and fund stewardship programs that address resident concerns.

Marketing, development and stewardship actions

Randall described three pillars guiding the office’s work: marketing (advertising and partner co‑ops), destination development (community support, agritourism and astrotourism initiatives) and stewardship (resident engagement and a unified “Utah Forever” stewardship framework). Examples presented included:

- Co‑op grant support for local destination marketing and a public ArcGIS dashboard that shows district‑level investments and projects.
- Work with airports and communities to expand direct flights and airlift, including citing a Salt Lake City–Incheon nonstop flight the office characterized as high‑performing for the carrier.
- Pilots and workshops for agritourism and astrotourism (dark‑sky tourism) and the state’s “Utah Film Trail” as a mechanism to capture film tourism.

The office also emphasized stewardship: resident sentiment work and a statewide coordination effort with partners including the Division of Outdoor Recreation, Department of Agriculture and Food, and other agencies to align messaging and visitor management.

Questions and clarifications

Committee members asked whether federal marketing programs target Utah. Randall said the federal Brand USA program markets the United States globally and that state offices use such national platforms for additional lift, but she did not provide a percentage breakdown of Brand USA’s focus on Utah. On targeting timing and place, Randall said marketing and development work explicitly looks at shoulder seasons and alternative experiences (for example, night‑time or off‑peak visits tied to dark‑sky programming) to help spread visitation.

Ending and next steps

Randall asked the committee to consider the program’s funding context as it evaluates budgets. The office offered district dashboards and legislative resources (travel.utah.gov/legislative-resources) for legislators to review local co‑op investments and pledged to continue resident sentiment tracking and stewardship work.