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Parks and recreation widen 3 Peaks access for events; tourism office launches destination-development partnerships
Summary
Parks and tourism director Maria reported paved access to 3 Peaks to move race starts into the park, the May opening of a five-mile group area that generated nearly $10,000, and a new Utah Office of Tourism program to help local businesses create bookable experiences.
Maria, Iron County parks, recreation and tourism director, told the commission the county widened and paved access into 3 Peaks so race starts can be moved into the park and away from nearby neighborhoods. She said that work should reduce neighborhood impacts and that paving is expected this week.
Maria said the county opened a five-mile group area May 1 that has already produced about $9,000–$10,000 in revenue and is in high demand for reservations. She also reported Woods Ranch is open for the season and that repair and facility work at the shooting range and other parks continues.
On tourism, Maria said transient room-tax (TRT) collections and occupancy were slightly down from the prior year to date but restaurant tax collections were nearly 12% higher. She said the county is partnering with the Utah Office of Tourism on a seven-month destination development program that will bring a destination expert (Giovannino of Veneto Collaboratory) to help four local businesses develop bookable visitor experiences. The county will also host an August workshop focused on agritourism and dark-sky products; commissioners were invited to a dinner on Aug. 11 at Frontier Homestead.
Maria said the county recorded 51 earned-media placements recently, with hits in Outside, Ebony and Powder magazines and a potential reach of about 83 million impressions. She thanked commissioners for attending Utah Summer Games opening ceremonies and said discussions are beginning with SUU on investments in sports facilities, with more detail expected in August.
No formal action was required for the report.
