10-YEAR INDIVIDUAL COUNTY
DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT PLANS
Utah Office of Tourism
OVERVIEW
There are 29 counties across the State of Utah, some rural and some urban, some managing over tourism and some hoping to increase visitation, some with easy access and others off the beaten path. While each is unique, all can benefit from having an informed roadmap to guide long-term industry investments, which is why the Utah Office of Tourism hired Coraggio to help local counties create 10-Year Destination Development Plans. Working directly with the counties, we help them think long-term about intentionally shaping their visitor economy in ways that support their local communities and avoid potential pitfalls that can create quality-of-life issues for residents. With a focus on destination management, these plans support the economic, social, and environmental character that makes Utah so remarkable.
OUTCOMES
An Insight Report that assesses the current state of the destination.
10-Year Destination Development Plans specific to each participating county, informed by industry
stakeholders, community leaders, and residents.
Clarity on each county’s competitive position and long-term vision for the destination.
Targeted and focused strategies and initiatives, sequenced and mapped by investment phase, over a
ten-year period.
A governance and implementation model that leverages the strengths and resources of various
organizations and departments in the county.
APPROACH
To get to know each Utah county better, we analyze state and local tourism data and survey community stakeholders, including tourism-dependent businesses, elected officials, civic leaders, and residents, giving us key insights into the current dynamics at play. We then put our expertise in travel and tourism to work, facilitating workshops with community stakeholders and industry leaders to map visitor experiences, identify the county’s unique competitive position as a destination, develop a long-term vision, and identify core areas of focus and specific strategies. Anchoring the process in destination management results in strategies focused on visitor attraction and promotion, tourism product development, community infrastructure, and creative place-making opportunities. For the plan to take root, stakeholder and community buy-in are crucial, and our use of the Collective Impact Model helps ensure that the capacity, energy, and commitment across a diversity of relevant organizations are aligned for implementation.
“Coraggio, along with significant community input, helped us establish the direction and focus we needed to grow our visitor economy while meeting the needs of our residents. Coraggio showed us that the time and distance traveled between our attractions could be used to our advantage and they led us on a wonderful journey of seeing our county in a different and unique way. Their honesty and direction were exactly what we needed to open our eyes to the possibilities that await The Territory.”