Conventions on upswing

Salt Lake City's convention and hospitality business is looking up, but there are clouds on the horizon that could turn ominous.

Dianne Binger, chief executive officer of the Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau, reported at its annual meeting Thursday that the latter part of 2003 provided fuel for optimism. After more than 27 months of bleakness — the effects of terrorism, two wars, an economy in recession, the emergence globally of new and contagious illnesses, and reduced business travel — things are finally improving, Binger said.

"The past several years were terrible in the hospitality industry," Binger told the Deseret Morning News Thursday afternoon. "But things are looking brighter for future years. We've seen improvements, things in the last part of 2003 that give us additional optimism for 2004 and beyond."

Hotel occupancy rates during the fourth quarter of 2003 were up significantly, Binger said. Salt Lake area ski resorts benefited from early and plentiful snow. Business travel increased, and the number of conventions hosted at the Salt Palace Convention Center was up from previous years.

Still, taken as a whole, 2003 was no barn-burner. According to the bureau's annual report, which was also released Thursday, 206,767 convention delegates visited Salt Lake City in 2003, compared to 240,557 in 2002. The bureau provided support to 303 convention groups, including 33 citywide conventions. Total delegate and visitor spending (including hotel, restaurant, retail, entertainment and local transportation) was estimated at $213 million.

In 2004, two issues likely will near resolution, which will play a pivotal role in the health and future of Salt Lake City. One is the Outdoor Retailer trade show. The second concerns downtown redevelopment.

Within the past year, members of the Outdoor Industry Association threatened to take the show from Salt Lake because of space concerns at the Salt Palace and dismay at Utah's environmental policies.

Outdoor Retailer Winter Market opens today at the Salt Palace and is expected to draw roughly 14,000 people this week, up from 13,600 last year.

The show grows in size and popularity every year, Lori Crabtree, a spokeswoman for Outdoor Retailer, told the Deseret Morning News earlier this week. Summer Market has a waiting list of exhibitors, and even at its current size, the show requires a 60,000-square-foot outdoor pavilion to house the exhibitors.