Convention sales rose 16% in '06

It was a year of record numbers, an expanded facility and unprecedented returns. But there's still work to do.

The Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau reported Thursday that its sales topped $330 million in 2006, and that it set records in the number of conventions and meeting delegates in Salt Lake last year. The 2006 sales results were 16 percent ahead of 2005 and well ahead of the $298 million reported during the 2002 Olympic year, according to the bureau report.

"We saw incredible growth in the transient room tax (revenues)," said Scott Beck, the bureau's president. "To see that transient room tax for the year eclipse the Olympic year by such a significant dollar amount is the most positive aspect of 2006."

In addition, Beck said, the 295,300 convention delegates that came to Utah in 2006 set a new record. Many of them came as part of the Outdoor Retailer trade shows, which this year held its show in the expanded Salt Palace.

"The fact that we can now host larger conventions, you know, the proof is in the pudding," Beck said.

He attributed the year's results to "incredible synergy" between the bureau and the rest of the hospitality/tourism community, including the state and travel partner Delta Air Lines.

"We're not the only ones marketing Salt Lake as a destination," Beck said. Ski resorts do their part, as do hoteliers and the state's tourism office.

"For the third year in a row, the state is also spending significant dollars marketing the state," Beck said. "That is so important to us. As weird as it sounds, when we try to convince someone to some to Salt Lake, versus Seattle or Denver or San Antonio, we first have to convince them to come to Utah. So that branding by the state, and the incredible value that has for us, and the fact that it's being done at such a high level ... those are all things that are helping us look forward with great energy and high expectations. People are beginning to understand that we are different than they might expect."

And the money isn't just flowing and growing in Salt Lake, Beck said. The largest growth in the hotel industry was in the outlying areas — the south and west valleys, according to the Rocky Mountain Lodging Report.

"Which means that hoteliers in the south valley can be excited about what's going on at the Salt Palace or downtown," Beck said. "We call it compression: when downtown Salt Lake is full, it pushes people to the outlying areas. And that's at the basis of the importance of the convention center."