Tourism in Utah increases

Utah is attracting more visitors despite the slow economy of the past year.

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.

Von der Esch attributed the hike in tourism to the state's increase in marketing funding. Prior to the increase, Utah was spending in one year the same amount that Vail, Colo., spent on its summer marketing alone.

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