Tourism officials in the Cache Valley say ‘normal’ is right around the corner

LOGAN, Utah — A return to ‘normal’ could be right around the corner, according to tourism officials in the Cache Valley.

Summer events and activities back to normal?

The optimistic outlook comes after Governor Spencer Cox said all restrictions on gathering sizes and events could be lifted in as soon as 3 to 4 weeks.

The director of the Cache Valley Visitors Bureau, Julie Hollist-Terrill, spoke last summer about how cancelled events and activities led to less people visiting the area.

“Just like everywhere else, we’ve got a lot of making up to do as far as the season goes,” she explained. “I was talking to one of our hotel operators and he said our occupancy, the amount of rooms that are rented right now, is about 60% of their rooms. Whereas last year at this time, they’d be in the high 80’s.”

Hitting the road

Fast forward a handful of months and Hollist-Terrill thinks this upcoming summer will be totally different.

Her optimism stems not only from loosened COVID-19 restrictions but also recent travel surveys that find a majority of people are looking to hit the road soon.

“I’ve done some research, and the U.S. Travel Association said that out of the surveying information that they have, 9 out of 10 people in America have plans to take a trip,” she was quoted in the Cache Valley Daily. “So people are ready to go and we just hope they’re going to come to Logan.”

She thinks the odds of travelers coming to the area are even better considering that some people are still hesitant about flying across the country and may opt for a road trip instead.

More exciting news for the local tourism industry was the announcement that their summer citizens program is returning.

“We have been getting calls at our office every single day from more than one person, from down in Arizona, asking whatever questions they have on their mind, and some of the housing complexes that host the summer citizens are actually already full.”