Tourism To Utah Increases

Utah's national parks and other attractions continue to attract a growing number of visitors, despite tough economic times.

That's what is reported in this Deseret News article. Below are excerpts.

The Utah Office of Tourism said Monday that the state attracted 20.4 million people in 2008, an increase of more than 16 percent since 2004.

Four years ago, 17.5 million visitors made Utah their travel destination, the office said. The influx of travel generated $7.19 billion of sales and revenue for Utah businesses last year — up 27 percent over the $5.65 billion that came in during 2004.

"We did get a travelers spending rise of 6.2 percent in '08, which is what pushed us over $7 billion," Leigh von der Esch, managing director of the Office of Tourism, told the Deseret News.

AP has this article saying some of those numbers were overestimated. Below are excerpts.

But an Associated Press review of Salt Lake City International Airport passenger statistics shows that the governor's staff overestimated the number of passengers who flew into Utah last year by more than 200,000 people.

It is unclear how much the incorrect numbers impact state estimates that tourist spending increased by more than $400 million last year to $7.1 billion.