As the Summer of 2012 begins, Utah’s Office of Tourism has already been busy with many marketing projects to bring even more travelers to our state from all over the world. The $2.2 million regional advertising campaign ending in June focused on promoting Utah’s state and national parks, as well as other summer attractions. Features included:

• The Utah Life Elevated TV campaign ran in the Los Angeles, Denver, Phoenix, Portland, and San Francisco markets.
• A tunnel wrap at the BART Montgomery St. Station in San Francisco created a stir in social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter.
• Digital outdoor ads were also seen in Los Angeles, Denver, and Las Vegas. Online digital display and social media advertising and promotion included: Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle.
• The state recently launched its redesigned website, VisitUtah.com, in time for the summer vacation season, with direct links to travel guides foreign languages.

The new Utah Travel Guide and regional inserts are available to travelers at Council Hall and at visitor centers around the state. Utah travel information, including our international planners in eight languages (Korean and Portuguese are new), is also available at VisitUtah.com

Overall Utah National park visits in January are up 14% from January through May 2012 with State park visitation up 17% through April. Visits to our Welcome Centers are up 18% through May. According to the Rocky Mountain Lodging Report, Utah’s occupancy is 63.6%, which is up 3.9% YTD.