Representatives from Visit Salt Lake and downtown hotels briefed the City Council on the Convention and Tourism Assessment (CTA), a hotel assessment the council approved last October, and described early results the committee says support continued investment.

Krista Perry, chief brand and experience officer for Visit Salt Lake, told the council the CTA is a 2% assessment on participating hotels that is reinvested into development, brand-building and incentives to attract conventions and events. Perry said the assessment was approved by the council in October 2023 and that the Convention District committee governs CTA spending within roughly a one-mile radius of the Salt Palace Convention Center.

Visit Salt Lake and hotel committee representatives gave summary metrics: they said Salt Lake City has about 75 lodging properties and more than 12,000 hotel rooms; hotel revenue in 2024 was approximately $471 million; the CTA budget was about $7.8 million in 2024 and $8.3 million in 2025; and they reported that 49 events are being booked this year using some CTA funds, representing roughly 519,000 attendees and about 700,000 room nights that together were estimated to create about $275 million in economic impact.

Tyson Leibert, chief sales officer for Visit Salt Lake, and Pina Porpero, general manager at the Hyatt Regency and chair of the Convention District committee, described how CTA incentives have helped retain or win business for the city. Leibert said the CTA helped secure large conventions and pivot logistics when events needed support — for example, committee funds paid for busing to move about 17,500 attendees from the airport when light-rail service was unavailable on New Year’s Day. Visit Salt Lake highlighted the ARVO ophthalmology conference as a case study: the meeting generated record revenue during its Salt Lake week and has rebooked the city for 2032.

Committee leaders said CTA funds are used to raise Salt Lake’s profile with meeting planners and to provide targeted incentives to make bids more competitive against regional peer cities. Pina Porpero said the hotels on the committee value CTA because it keeps them aligned on goals and spending priorities and helps all hotel types benefit, from full-service downtown properties to select-service hotels.

Visit Salt Lake staff said early performance measures are encouraging: they reported a 19% increase in bookings in the CTA’s first year and year-to-date hotel revenue growth of 5.4% in the Convention District, which they said outpaced comparable western cities; staff cautioned that those results are early indicators and that continued investment is intended to maintain momentum through planned convention-center renovations.

Councilmembers thanked the presenters and asked questions about community benefits and future needs; no formal action or vote was taken. Presenters asked the council to note CTA-funded results and the committee’s priorities in advance of future budget and convention-center planning discussions.

Why this matters: The CTA funnels hotel-assessment revenue into marketing and incentives intended to increase convention bookings, room nights and visitor spending; Visit Salt Lake and hotel leaders told the council the program has already helped book large events and produced measurable increases in bookings and hotel revenue.

What’s next: Visit Salt Lake and the Convention District committee will continue monthly meetings and report on CTA-funded bookings and economic impacts; presenters highlighted CTA’s role in supporting business during the Salt Palace renovation period.