Growing up in Scotland, I saw my fair share of tourists. Usually Americans, dressed in winter clothes despite it being May, they’d cry, “it looks like Hogwarts!” whenever they encountered a building that was more than 100 years old. I’d roll my eyes. A dislike of tourists, I’ve learned, is universal. But oh, how we need them.
The Kem C Gardner institute released a report documenting the travel and tourism profile of each of the 29 counties in Utah – the amount of tax revenue they generate, the number of hotel rooms and short term rental units necessitated, and the number of jobs as a result. The results confirmed our worst fears: tourists make money.
In 2023, visitor spending led to $2.35 billion in total state and local tax revenue. 159,800 of Utah’s jobs can be attributed to the tourism industry – that means the associated income taxes can too. County transient room tax revenues reached $107 million, and the state saw 6.7 million skier days during the 2023-2024 season (the second-highest figure recorded).
While tourists undoubtedly cost money – they use the roads and the local emergency services, for example – they contribute valuable funds to both the counties they visit and the state as a whole. In Salt Lake County, for example, visitor sales tax accounts for 15.7% of total sales tax revenues – which is then available for the county to use as they see fit.
It is important that, even amid our frustration with the out of state visitors who don’t know how to drive, we remember that they make important contributions to our state’s revenue and economy. Although it is easy to push taxes to tourists with the justification that they can’t complain because they don’t vote here, we need to be mindful of the fact that tourists hold perhaps the most important vote of all. If Utah becomes unappealingly expensive – perhaps because of rising tourist taxes – they may elect not to come here at all, and over time, the associated revenues will disappear too.
A prime example of this was included in the “Baseball Bill”, which would have increased the hotel tax by 1.6% statewide and increased car rental tax by 1.5%. Although these ideas are set to be reviewed, they certainly would not have been hospitable to tourists who contribute so much to our economy. Equally, the ongoing debate over the gondola at Little Cottonwood Canyon generally fails to acknowledge how much the state has to gain by making skiing more accessible to those who choose to ski here.
With a newly-minted hockey team, an incoming MLB team, a thriving ski industry, beautiful state and national parks, an imminent Olympics, a fantastic new airport with excellent connection opportunities, and an abundance of soda shops, Utah truly is a place for visitors. Let’s be sure to remember them when we’re crafting tax policy.