Davis County wants to be more than a 'bedroom community'

Throw out the "bedroom community" label. Davis County leaders are pushing a different way to describe where they live.

Instead of sleepy towns and quaint cities, Davis — the third most populous county in Utah — wants to be seen as a place to bring business or book a night at a hotel.

Yes, new residents are always welcome. But Davis is "growing up," say county leaders, and it has more to offer than just houses.

"We are more than a bedroom community now," said Dannie McConkie, Davis County commissioner.

While efforts began about 10 years ago to promote the county as "visitor friendly," results have been most visible in recent years. Last September, the Davis County Conference Center was dedicated. Now a study is being done to see if the conference center should be expanded.

Most recently, new offices for the Davis Area Convention & Visitors Bureau were opened. The bureau was established two years ago with the goal of marketing Davis County as a location to visit, said Barbara Riddle, president and CEO of the bureau.

"The bottom line is to increase tourism within Davis County, to bring more visitors in," Riddle said.

At least one set of tracking statistics seems to indicate that Riddle — and those within the county's tourism division — are meeting that goal to increase visitor traffic within the county.

Compared to 2004, more than double the number of room nights have been booked at county hotels over the past six months. In 2004, only 4,328 room nights were booked in the county. From January to July of this year, 9,063 room nights have been booked.

Riddle's group wants to help the county reach 17,000 room nights booked by the end of the year. And, at present, that goal looks reachable, she said.

Wilf Sommerkorn, Davis County community and economic development director, points to Hill Air Force Base as a prime generator of those room night numbers. Growth in Layton, home to the Davis Conference Center, is also a reason for increased hotel stays, he said.

"You have a lot of people that come in and out of the base, and they have, in the past, stayed in the Ogden area," Sommerkorn said. "Now that we have more facilities in Layton, that has shifted down."

Davis County, in its bid to attract more tourism and conventions, has carved out a niche officials say is helping it thrive, but not at the expense of its neighbors.