Officials try to get Utah in TV, movies

LAYTON — State officials are considering more than just an advertising campaign as a way to get potential out-of-staters visitors to take notice of Utah.

They also want to leverage Utah's spectacular beauty portrayed on the silver screen and television sets to draw folks in.

Leigh von der Esch, director of the Utah Office of Tourism and the Utah Film Commission, cited statistics on Monday that indicate a huge potential payoff in tourism dollars for the state if viewers ultimately visit.

" 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil' increased tourism in Savannah, Ga., as did 'Forrest Gump,' by 60 percent," von der Esch told the Legislature's Tourism Task Force during a meeting at the Davis Conference Center.

Other examples she cited, based on film-induced visitation figures provided by research firm Global Insight, include:

• "The Dish" boosted tourism in New South Wales in Australia by 80 percent.

• Visitorship to Scotland grew by 25 percent after "Braveheart" and "Rob Roy."

• "Sense and Sensibility" increased tourism to Saltram House in Plymouth in the United Kingdom by 39 percent.

• "Dances With Wolves" lifted tourism 14.5 percent in Badlands National Park.

"We're trying to pull additional information and also taking a look at what we can be doing to see how we can platform our visitors from that," von der Esch said.

Utah already has seen similar results, she said, noting that the number of visitors to Canyonlands climbed 23 percent after "Thelma and Louise" was shot at Dead Horse Point.

Such increases can have a lasting effect, she noted, mentioning "Field of Dreams" and how people continue to travel to its setting.

"We know that that 'Field of Dreams' continues to bring a quarter-million people to that field in Iowa, and the movie was shot in 1989," she said.

The state last year launched a $1 million pilot project to boost film and TV production in the state, with higher tax rebate percentages for companies who used "Utah as Utah" in their projects. Another $1 million was approved for the upcoming fiscal year.

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E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com