Salt Lake City, UT – More than 21,000 manufacturers, retailers and suppliers to the outdoor industry will fill the Salt Palace Convention Center beginning today for the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2010 expo, generating over $19.4 million in direct economic impact to Salt Lake, and the state of Utah.nThis year’s Summer Market pre-registration numbers signal an optimistic outlook for the convention center’s largest annual user. With more people registered than last year to date, enthusiasm about the industry and the relevance of this trade show are strong.
“It is exciting the outdoor industry and Nielsen Business Media continue to embrace our destination and the business opportunity this trade show represents for their industry,” said Scott Beck, President and CEO of the Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Trade shows continue to be an important business tool for this industry, due to the importance of face-to-face contact with their clients and their peers. When you combine the incredible natural surroundings of Salt Lake and the Wasatch mountains, our destination is the perfect place for this unique gathering of outdoor-related businesses and retailers.”
According to the University of Utah’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR), a Salt Lake convention delegate in 2009 spent $923 during an average three-day stay. What began primarily as an event whose impact was felt in the hotels, restaurants, local attractions, exhibit companies, sound, light and staging services, local transportation firms and shopping centers in Salt Lake, has transitioned into what the Governor’s Office of Economic Development now considers an opportunity to grow Utah’s economy with outdoor industry-related companies relocating to Utah.
Active Utah outdoor recreation fuels tremendous economic growth in Utah, contributing $5.8 billion annually to Utah’s economy, supporting 65,000 jobs, generating nearly $300 million in annual state tax revenues, and producing nearly $4 billion annually in retail sales and services across Utah, accounting for almost five percent of the Gross State Product. The outdoor recreation industry has grown from a few small businesses that started in garages and out of the back of vans in the 1960s and 1970s into a multibillion dollar industrial powerhouse.
In Salt Lake and the surrounding area, there are numerous ski, snowboard and outdoor industry companies, in addition to adventure travel, recreation and other retail shops that contribute to the recreation economy. Some noteworthy companies in and around the Salt Lake area include: Black Diamond Equipment, Petzl USA, Backcountry.com, Easton Technical Products, Rossignol Skis, Ogio, Chums, Voile, Chisco, Fezzari, Liberty Mountain, Specialized, Scott, Quality Bicycle Products, Descente USA, Ozone Kites, Icon Health & Fitness, Peregrine Outfitters, Clik Elite, and Amer Sports (whose brands include Atomic, Salomon, Suunto, Arc’teryx, etc.).