Tourism program faces some hurdles

LAYTON — Planning for the state's newly funded branding and tourism campaign is continuing, but several actions need to occur before its launch.

Leigh von der Esch, director of the Utah Office of Tourism, told the Legislature's Tourism Task Force on Monday that a new campaign to promote Utah to potential out-of-state visitors will be in place in a few months, but several other matters need to fall into place first. They include selecting an advertising company to develop the campaign, getting a new travel board in place to approve it and coordinating activities with local tourism organizations.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. will nominate members of the travel board, which is being reconstituted as a result of legislation passed earlier this year. The same legislation boosted tourism branding and promotion funding from the current $900,000 to $10 million for the upcoming fiscal year.

The state also needs to select an advertising firm to develop the new campaign and check that it fits with those worked up by local tourism councils, which state officials promised at a statewide tourism conference in May.

"There is a sense of urgency to get a plan forward and get a board appointed. I feel it, I know it, we're aware of it," von der Esch said during the task force's meeting at the Davis Conference Center.

"But on the other hand, we're also going to be accountable. We want to do the appropriate research and get around the state and make certain that we talk to our partners. We committed a month ago to communicate, collaborate and coordinate, and that takes a little time. It doesn't take much time at all to kind of say, 'This is what we're doing, folks. Take it or leave it.' It takes time to check out, 'How does this sound to you? Does this work for you? And how do you think this helps you serve your niche customers?' So I appreciate your patience."

A request for proposals for a company to develop the new campaign was sent out recently to state firms and a few national agencies. Written replies to potential bidders' questions will be supplied by June 27. The field of bidders will be narrowed to a small group that will provide oral presentations in early July, von der Esch said. The selected company might have a draft on the new marketing campaign as soon as August.

While a yet-to-be-selected committee will pick the winning bidder, the travel board will approve the marketing plan. The new travel board members will be nominated by the governor and could be confirmed by the Senate in July, she said.

Von der Esch said Huntsman will want to participate in the brand selection, as previous governors have done with earlier brands, such as former Gov. Mike Leavitt's "Utah! Where Ideas Connect."