Liquor laws may be immediate boon

The changes in Utah's liquor laws could have positive consequences even before the measures take effect this summer, a member of the Utah Board of Tourism Development said Thursday.

Steve Lindburg told the board during its monthly meeting that publicity about the liquor-law change has been far-reaching and could benefit the state on the eve of its summer tourism marketing campaign TV commercials. Those spots, aimed at luring out-of-staters to Utah, start running March 30.

"I think the alcohol piece has actually turned into a very strong marketing campaign - not by any design," Lindburg said.

While the legislative session was wrapping up last week, Lindburg was traveling in the Northwest. He said he read newspaper reports about the liquor-law change in USA Today, The Oregonian and the Salem Journal and also saw reports on Boise TV stations.

"The bottom line is, there's a lot of visibility that has happened in addition to the positive change in the liquor laws, and anytime we can get our name out with, I think, a positive stance is a good thing," Lindburg said.

"I think we're going to reap some benefit from that as well from a marketing perspective. So, hopefully that starts to raise awareness as our TV commercials hit the air. The timing couldn't be better."

Tourism industry officials for years had called for liquor-law reforms in order to eliminate any conceptions - and misconceptions - potential tourists might have about the availability of alcohol in Utah.

Jason Perry, executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development, told the tourism board that his corporate recruitment team no longer will have to waste time explaining Utah's liquor laws during meetings with officials from companies considering Utah as a site for operations.

"You already know all of the things (about the legislation) and feel good, I'm sure. But when we are on the other side of the office working on business recruitment, that's the first 20 minutes of every conversation we have, is about our liquor laws. And we're going to throw those slides away," Perry said. "You can get a drink in Utah."

The first two questions about Utah from one Oregon-based company, he said, focused on recycling programs and "can you really not get a drink in Utah?" Perry seemed perplexed that such misperceptions come "from very big, sophisticated companies."

"This is a big deal," he said of the new measure. "Four years in the making ..."

Board members responded to Perry's comments about the legislation with "thank you" and at least one "hallelujah."

E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com