PARK CITY — Cities that traditionally rely on business travel and conventions for tourism must market other attractions if they want to be competitive, a national travel expert told Utah Hotel and Lodging Association on Wednesday.

"I don't want to be all doom and gloom," Peter Crockett, a regional account manager at the AAA national office, said at the association conference at the Yarrow Resort Hotel. "It's going to be softer in 2009."

Towns such as Salt Lake City and Provo can become stronger tourist destinations by marketing other activities for travelers, such as restaurants and proximity to Park City or Thanksgiving Point, said Crockett, whose organization publishes magazines and books that have some paid advertising from travel destinations. Crockett cited a study from the Travel Industry Association that found that for every $1 a tourism business spends on marketing, it makes $20.

Leisure travel comprises 79 percent and business travel comprises 21 percent of all U.S. travel. While leisure travel over the long term will likely increase, business travel is decreasing, Crockett said.

Leisure travel is increasing in part because families are so busy that they use travel as a means to bond, Crockett said, adding he did not know how many people will travel for leisure in the next year because of the current recession. For the third quarter of this year, PKF Hospitality Research estimated occupancy was down 4.4 percent.

The increased use of teleconferencing has contributed to less business travel in recent years. Companies also have decreased the number of trips for employees because of tough economic times.

Utah has a tourism marketing budget of about $15 million. The city of Las Vegas spends $200 million, Crockett said.

"Even people coming on a convention should know about the restaurants, the zoos, so they'll stay another day and spend another $300," he said. "The competition is fierce."

Crockett also talked about how hotels can specialize in niche groups, which can guarantee revenue streams from conventions and associations.

"You can appeal to very narrow groups," he said. "I was up at a little town in Idaho and this nice, old hotel is focusing on quilting clubs. Go figure."

After Crockett's talk, Mark Mundel, general manager of the Red Lion in Salt Lake City, said that his hotel's strategy to be competitive is to attract niche groups to his hotel and conference space. "We're doing more marketing, more specific niche marketing," he said. "More association or reunion events."

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