The opening of the Natural History Museum of Utah and the Leonardo museum, as well as the March 22 debut of the City Creek Center downtown mall, are helping to fuel optimism among tourism officials in Salt Lake County.
Visit Salt Lake issued its 2011 annual report this week, and it showed an increase in transient room taxes, a big jump of revenue per available room in local lodges, major jumps in what the media are covering in Salt Lake City and huge increases in social media hits.
Scott Beck, president and CEO of Visit Salt Lake, said the addition of new award-winning restaurants and recognition of existing ones, coupled with the museum openings, more light rail connections and completion of the downtown shopping center, generated $9.5 million in earned media--favorable publicity gained through editorial stories that appear in the mass media, including newspaper, television and the Internet. Salt Lake Tribune
