Utah tourism trade shrank by $700 million during 2009

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A state report says Utah's tourism industry shrunk by about $700 million in the past year, to $6.2 billion.

The 2010 Economic Report to the Governor was released Thursday, highlighting the struggles the state faced in the past year amid a global recession.

The report says the number of visitors to the state dropped by nearly 1 million from the previous year, to 19.4 million.

The decline snapped years of growth in the tourism industry, which is one of the state's largest sectors.

Although tourism spending declined, 2009 was still the third-best year on record.

The report forecasts there will be a modest increase in travel to Utah this year as the economy slowly recovers.