National Park Travel Stays Strong Despite Recession

The number of people visiting Utah's national and state parks is up this year, despite ongoing economic woes. But areas which normally see strong business travel are reporting lower numbers, according to data released at the recent Utah Hotel and Lodging Association annual conference.

The Deseret News has this article about the conference. Below are excerpts.

"Our gateway communities to the national parks … have brought more interest," (Leigh) von der Esch told the Deseret News on Wednesday at the Utah Hotel and Lodging Association annual conference. "Our state parks are up because people are looking for value (for their vacation dollar)."

(Michael) Johnson said that Salt Lake City, Park City and Midway have seen significant declines in bookings over the past year. Generally speaking, however, Utah has not been hit as hard as neighboring states in the Rocky Mountain region, some of which have seen 10 percent decreases in lodging business, he said.

He told the Deseret News that in northern Utah, hotel bookings have mostly fallen in the 7 percent to 15 percent range. But those figures may be misleading, he added.

"For the last three years, they were booming so much and doing so well that (with the decline) ...they are probably about level (with where they were in 2005)," Johnson said.