ST. GEORGE — Money from temporary visitor lodging, known as transient room tax, rose over 75% in Washington County between 2020 and 2021. And this unusual uptick gave the Greater Zion Tourism Convention and Tourism Office an unexpected increase in its budget in 2021.
“In 2021, we exceeded our transient room tax revenue,” Brittany McMichael, assistant director for Greater Zion Tourism, said. “We were anticipating that we would collect just over 8 to 9 million dollars. We ended up collecting over 15 million dollars.”
It was a surprise for the organization since the pandemic had caused a sudden drop in revenue. In 2020, $8,719,437 was collected in transit room tax. In 2021, $15,293,148 was collected, which was a 75.3% increase from 2020, McMichael said.
The transient room tax collected by hotels is directly from visitors. The hotels then remit those taxes to the state and the state sends that money back to the county.
“In 2020, obviously, with that pandemic, we were shut down there for a couple of months. And we really cut our budget back in 2020 because we weren’t sure what was going to happen,” McMichael said. “But then we were able to keep tourism going through the pandemic safely. We recovered at a level that was very rare within the states.”
But McMichael cautions the increase in funds from the transient room tax may not be sustainable. There is no way to know if the same visitation numbers experienced in 2021 will be the same in 2022.
“I’ve been doing this budget for 20 years and that increase scares me a little. You just never know what’s going to happen,” McMichael said.
Due to the spike in 2021, Greater Zion, which is overseen by a Tax Advisory Board and the Washington County Commission, has a $13.5 million budget for 2022.
Greater Zion is taking money from its balance for tourism-related projects and improvements, McMichael said. Some of the expenditures will include trail and performance center improvements, marketing and a new office.
They have also set aside some money for their budget fund balance, which is like a savings account, she said. They will also use some of the funds for the new county building in which they will be housed.
“We have a portion of that space that we’re paying for that we will occupy,” she said. “We’re also building a new visitor center. We’ve got money that we are paying towards the visitor center and then we will also pay for a portion of the parking structure that we will occupy.”
Construction is underway on the corner of 100 East and Tabernacle Street, west of where the current administration building stands, for the new Washington County Administration Building, which is projected to be completed by the end of the year. Estimated at 142,00 square feet and four stories tall, the building will be one of the largest government buildings south of Sandy, Utah. It will also have a parking garage underneath.
“We’ll be right in the center of town. We’re really excited about the new visitor center,” McMichael said. “It’s going to be a great experience for visitors and locals alike.”
She said the new visitor center will be interactive with topography maps, video, audio and live animals.
The timing of a recent bill passed by the Utah Legislature works to their advantage. Transient room tax Amendments, designated HB 323 in the 2022 Utah Legislature, amends the transient room tax law to address the steep increase in tourism revenue Washington County and other counties collected in 2021.
According to the Utah Legislature website, the new legislation allows counties with more than a 150% increase in year-to-year revenue the ability to save more of it. In the past, county tourism offices in Utah had to spend at least 47% “establishing and promoting” tourism from their transient room tax revenue.
The bill covers only the years between the fiscal years of 2019 through 2023. The new legislation provides more flexibility to manage the visitors coming to specific areas of the state.
Statewide, counties must spend at least 47% establishing and promoting tourism. Greater Zion spends the other 53% on tourism-related projects and infrastructure.
“We have spent approximately $25 million in the past 10 years improving and adding to the tourism infrastructure,” McMichael said.
Greater Zion Director Kevin Lewis said many local projects have benefited from tourism dollars, including:
- $10 million grant for Zion Corridor Path ($3 million match)
- $2.5 million state Route 18 Projects
- $2.5 million Dixie Center improvements
- $2 million Human Performance Center at Dixie State University
- $1 million Hurricane trails system
- $1 million Snake Hollow Bike Park
- $500,000 Santa Clara BMX Park
- $500,000 Virgin River trail system
According to its website, Greater Zion includes 2,400 square miles of outdoors, which includes portions of the Mojave Desert, Colorado Plateau and Great Basin to make for some of the most stunning scenery in the world.
Home to Zion National Park, the third most visited park in the United States, Greater Zion is a destination where beauty meets luxury. Urban elegance complements colorful landscapes that paint the background, the website states.
Over the last 10 years, Greater Zion has shifted from a 100% focus on marketing Southern Utah as a destination to management and development of that destination, Lewis said.
“Without tourism, and without the people coming here, we wouldn’t have the benefit of the added services that we enjoy,” Lewis said. “The addition of restaurants, facilities and things like that.”
Lewis added if it weren’t for tourism, taxpayers would be paying $1,300 more every year in taxes.
Tourism dollars spent in Washington County include events, conventions and vacations. Lewis said some of the benefits from those funds include direct spending, creation of jobs, labor income, income tax, sales tax and local business output.
‘Red Emerald Visitor’
Sara Otto, Greater Zion marketing manager, said the mission of Greater Zion is “to maximize the revenue generated by visitors to create a superior experience for visitors and residents.”
And a critical part of this means adjusting how Greater Zion implements its marketing aim, she said.
In the last several years, advertisements with digital tactics were used to target a proven traveler interested in key adventures, such as mountain biking, golfing and hiking.
“We have advertised across the Rocky Mountain West in the past couple of years, mainly because we were introducing the Greater Zion brand,” she said. “Then more so because the pandemic popularized road trips.”
As such, towns where visitors can drive from continued to be Greater Zion’s focus. In addition, destinations with direct flights to and from the St. George Regional Airport, such as Dallas-Fort Worth and Phoenix, are also part of the marketing mix, she said.
Otto analyses visitors’ spending, travel trends and other verified sources of information to see from where visitors originate, which illuminates how Greater Zion focuses its marketing.
“With the help of our ad agency, we’re responsibly and economically targeting preferred visitors,” Otto said.
Otto refers to this type of visitor as “A Red Emerald Visitor.” These visitors stay longer, spend more, support locals and encourage stewardship and respect for Washington County’s tourism assets. She said they see good results from this marketing plan.
Greater Zion’s marketing budget also allocates public relations efforts to media outlets throughout the country. The marketing budget supports the Greater Zion websites, social media presence, publications, content creation and Visitors Center.
As a Washington County resident for the past 24 years, McMichael admits tourism has also changed the area:
It’s not always an easy pill to swallow. You do notice the increase in traffic and the increase in people. But there are also major benefits to that. I don’t think I would trade to go back, although there are certain things that I do miss about the smaller town feel.
An upcoming event that showcases Southern Utah on the world stage is the Ironman World Championship on May 7 in St. George. This event takes the place of the 2021 Ironman World Championship that was canceled due to the pandemic. St. George will also host the 2022 Ironman 70.3 World Championship on Oct. 28 and 29.
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