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SALT LAKE CITY — This week, the state’s largest annual convention will kick off one of the highest grossing spending weeks of the year. The Outdoor Retailer Summer Market begins its yearly run in Utah, officially launching on Wednesday and continuing through Saturday at the Salt Palace Convention Center.
An estimated 29,000 people are coming to Salt Lake City this week for the event, including outdoor industry manufacturers, retailers and suppliers responsible for more than $25 million in spending, according to data compiled by Visit Salt Lake. Some participants will also visit the Open Air Demo today at Pineview Reservoir.
The convention is for industry professionals and remains closed to the public.
"Salt Lake City is a wonderful place to convene the outdoor industry,” said Marisa Nicholson, vice president and Outdoor Retailer show director. "The community shares our passion for the outdoors, and the outdoor lifestyle making it a wonderful place to conduct business.”
Over the course of its 20-year run in Salt Lake City, the summer and winter events have generated more than $565 million in direct delegate spending, accounting for more than $52 million in city, county and state taxes, the report stated. Total visitor spending figures are based on surveys of convention delegates conducted by the University of Utah’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
Civic leaders said the event has also been a major economic driver for the area over the years.
“The show’s presence highlights the important economic impact of the recreation industry to our county and the entire state of Utah,” said Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams. “The Outdoor Industry has become an important job growth sector as well, as businesses locate here, creating and providing jobs throughout the state.”
According to an Outdoor Industry Association study, the outdoor recreation economy in Utah is responsible for 122,400 jobs, $12 billion in consumer spending and $856 million in state and local taxes. Nationally, outdoor recreation is a significant sector in the U.S. economy, show organizers said.
“Outdoor recreation can grow jobs and drive the economy if we manage and invest in national, state and local parks, waters and trails as an interconnected system designed to sustain economic dividends,” said Amy Roberts, executive director of the Outdoor Industry Association. “The industry’s power has been further demonstrated by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell’s announcement earlier this year that the federal government will formally calculate the outdoor industry’s economic impact and finally put our influence on equal footing with oil and gas, health care and high tech.”
The report on the economic impacts notes that outdoor recreation is responsible for 6.1 million American jobs and $646 billion in direct consumer spending. That translates into $39.9 billion in federal tax revenue and $39.7 billion in state and local tax revenue.
