Newsroom Reel

The Utah Office of Tourism, VisitUtah.com, has released a series titled "The Voice of Bears Ears: Locals Perspectives on Bears Ears National Monument." Spanning high-elevation peaks, wild plateaus, deep canyons and towering sandstone, Bears Ears National Monument is at the heart of southeastern Utah. These lands are imbued with layers of culture — layers of life. The only way to understand the depths of this landscape is to listen to the locals who connect with the land in their own distinct ways. In this four-part series, meet: Carol Talus, Navajo and Airbnb Experience Host Dustin Randall, Guide and Adventurer Adam Redd and Chase Murray, Cowboys Nate Thomas and Jonathan Till, Archaeologists

The third quarter newsletter released September 2018.

Travel Trade and new office website. Recently our office attended the US Travel Association's IPW travel trade show. Travel trade shows are a mechanism for suppliers including destination marketing organizations (DMO’s), like ourselves, to meet with travel buyers (tour operators, travel agents, etc). IPW is unique in the sense that it brings together travel buyers and media from more than 70 countries, allowing us to build relationships, educate, and promote our region to existing and future buyers.

The County supports collaborative community led efforts to effectively manage commercial and residential development, and redevelopment, to meet future growth in San Juan County During the 2016 legislative session, important structural changes affecting Utah Code Title 17C were made: Removing previous redevelopment project tracks (EDA, URA, CDA) and streamlining them into one track called Community Reinvestment Areas (CRAs), Preventing the creation of a new project area if 51% of property owners contest, Amending annual reporting requirements, Requiring 10-20% allocation for affordable housing in project area budgets CRAs are the newest public tax increment financing tool that aims to assist with financing redevelopment activities from real and personal property taxable value increases. They are a flexible tool which can be used to achieve a number of redevelopment criteria. Typically, they are used to remove property blight, add new jobs, or develop vacant land.

In December 2017, San Juan County Economic Development developed a Strategic Plan outlining the county's strategy pertaining to economic development for the next ten year. The plan focuses on five key areas of focus including: broadband, transportation, diversity of economy and workforce, business expansion and retention, and the celebration of culture and heritage.