Park City, UT
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PLAN
OVERVIEW
Park City & Summit County, Utah are recognized as one of the most attractive destinations in the world—home to charming small towns and beautiful mountains and lakes. Its robust visitor economy, however, shows indications of imbalance that could threaten the ecosystem and quality of life in the area. In response, the Park City/Summit County CVB hired Coraggio to help create a Sustainable Tourism Plan, a compass to guide them as they build a future that considers community and environmental benefits with the same weight as economic benefits, and that fosters a thriving destination and place to call home.
OUTCOMES
The Sustainable Tourism Plan for Park City/Summit County is deeply rooted in the optimism and creativity the planning team brought to the process, boldly imagining the future they would like to see for their community and mapping a path to get there. The Sustainable Tourism Plan focuses squarely on the future, one where Park City/Summit County is an even greater place to live, work, play, and visit, and one where sustainable tourism and stewardship are the grounding principles.
APPROACH
Coraggio worked closely with the leadership of the Park City Chamber & Visitors Bureau to engage community voices, gathering more than 2,600 responses to a resident survey, holding town halls, and talking directly with leaders in the local tourism industry. This extensive outreach—combined with industry knowledge, analysis of local data, and a thorough sustainability assessment by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council—allowed the Coraggio team to deliver a comprehensive Situation Assessment outlining the key themes that would inform the planning process. Coraggio then met over a series of sessions with the Destination Stewardship Council with its members bringing many diverse perspectives to the table. The outcome is a Sustainable Tourism Plan built around five stewardship principles:
Value and respect the health of our local environment and natural resources
Foster our local spirit, our values, our sense of place, and the wellbeing of our community, for residents, employers, employees, and visitors alike
Ensure that benefits of the visitor economy are shared equitably by people of all races, ages, gender identities, sexual orientations, abilities, income levels, and by Summit County’s communities
Enable Summit County’s tourism industry to lead by example, championing tourism’s benefits, mitigating its impacts, and harnessing its regenerative power for the community and the environment
Be bold, creative, and action-focused, supporting transparency and measurable outcomes
“Our organization recognizes that with tourism success also comes great civic responsibility. We believe in the regenerative power of tourism and recognize our collective role in celebrating the positive impacts and mitigating the pinch points. That’s why we not only embarked on developing this Sustainable Tourism Plan (STP) to guide a holistic approach to destination management and stewardship, but also entered a transformative time for our organization, ensuring that we have the skills, capabilities, and capacity to help facilitate the plan’s success.”
— Jennifer Wesselhoff, CEO, Park City Chamber & Visitors Bureau