December 18, 2023
Community Forums Aim to Give All a Voice in Grand County's Future Economy
Set for January, sessions will be held in English and Spanish
The Grand County Economic Development Department (EDD) is inviting everyone with a stake in the county's economic future to register for one of two facilitated community forums next month and join in creating the county's five-year Trail To Tomorrow plan.
Each two-hour session will give residents, workers, and business operators opportunities to share perspectives about how the county can steer a strong economy to increase opportunities for local lifestyle and mitigate negative impacts.
Registration is now open on the county's Trail to Tomorrow engagement site, for the following sessions:
Each session will include facilitation for attendees who prefer to participate in Spanish. Anyone interested in joining the discussion in Spanish is invited to register using these forms:
All sessions will be held in Grand Center, 182 N. 500 W, Moab. Refreshments will be provided.
The purpose of the nine-month planning process is to achieve greater harmony between local economic realities and what residents prioritize. A central goal is to identify ways to manage tourism for the benefit of the Grand County community, while continuing to develop a more diverse economy.
In 2022 nearly 40 percent of the county's taxable sales stemmed from just two sectors — accommodations (28 percent) and food and beverage establishments (11.8 percent). According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the county's largest employment sector is food and beverage, which accounted for about 17.7% of jobs in 2022, up about 76% from 2010. The second-largest sector was accommodations, with 15.2% of jobs, up 62.6% since 2010. Overall, travel and tourism accounts for about half of all Grand County jobs.
With a commitment to hearing all voices, the planning process is including an extensive range of ways for Grand County stakeholders to share their perspectives. In addition to the January community forums, the project's consulting team will facilitate 10 roundtable discussions on key planning topics, conduct in-depth interviews with key community leaders, and survey Grand County business operators to identify challenges and future opportunities.
Two more community forums are planned in April to secure feedback on findings and a proposed planning framework. Two presentations are planned for the Grand County Commission, with regular updates and findings shared on the county's Trail to Tomorrow site until the process is complete in summer 2024.
The Trail to Tomorrow plan is being guided by an eight-member steering committee that includes County Commissioners Jacques Hadler and Bill Winfield, Moab Chamber of Commerce Director Laici Shumway, and community leader Sally Sederstrom. The steering committee also includes four county administrative staff —Assistant Administrator Quinn Hall and three members of the Economic Development Department: Director Ben Fredregill, Assistant Marketing Director Melissa Stocks and Interim Specialist Sky White.
The plan is being led by Better Destinations of Denver, with Nichols Tourism Group of Bellingham, Wash., serving as co-lead, and RRC Associates of Boulder as research lead.
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November 28, 2023
Versión en español
Grand County Launches Innovative Process to Build Economic Vitality
Aim is to advance sustainable tourism while building the economy to support local priorities
The Grand County Economic Development Department (EDD) is forging ahead with a strategic planning process to manage its vibrant tourism economy more sustainably while identifying new possibilities for diversifying the local economy beyond tourism.
With the full support of County Commissioners, the Trail to Tomorrow plan is set to yield significant new insights into Grand County’s economic and tourism landscape and chart a path to align residents of the world-famous National Park gateway around shared goals for the future.
"We are starting the 9-month strategic planning process that was contracted by the Grand County Commission in the summer of 2023. We are endeavoring to include input from local stakeholders while studying the impacts and effects of a burgeoning tourist economy.”" said Economic Development Director Ben Fredregill. "Our goal is to learn from the planning process what we can take forward to shape a local economy and tourism economy that balances quality of local life while maximizing tourism experience and benefits to Grand County.”"
Set to conclude in June 2024, the planning process is structured to provide many ways for local voices to be heard, including four community forums. Dates for the first two sessions are set for Jan. 17 and 18. Registration information will be made available soon.
The process will also include a business sentiment survey, in-depth interviews, discussion groups on topics impacting the local economy, and public presentations before the Grand County Commission. The EDD will review and consider incorporating existing and past planning and research efforts from local and regional stakeholders. Planning updates will be shared regularly through the Grand County Connects public engagement platform at grandcountyconnects.com/trail-to-tomorrow.
Development of the Trail to Tomorrow plan will be overseen by a nine-member Steering Committee.
Members include:
● Jacques Hadler, Grand County Commissioner
● Bill Winfield, Grand County Commissioner
● Laici Shumway, Director, Moab Chamber of Commerce
● Sally Sederstrom, Grand County High School College Advisor, Utah College Advising Corps
Grand County Economic Development
● Quinn Hall, Grand County Assistant Administrator
● Ben Fredregill, EDD Director
● Sky White, Interim Economic Development Specialist
● Melissa Stocks, Assistant Marketing Director
● Mimi Drozdetski, VISTA
To develop the five-year strategic plan, Grand County selected a first-time consulting partnership led by Better Destinations LLC of Denver. The consulting team also includes Mitch Nichols, president of Nichols Tourism Group of Bellingham, Wash., as co-lead. RRC Associates of Boulder will lead development of research for the plan.
"Our whole team applauds the innovative approach Grand County is undertaking to build a stronger economy and map future opportunities," said Better Destinations Founder Cathy Ritter. "We believe the county's interest in exploring the potential of both tourism and other forms of economic development will deliver far more value than an 'either-or' approach."
Grand County Commissioners recently expanded the planning process to incorporate a visitor perception study to gain deeper insight into various kinds of visitors and how they compare Moab and Grand County with other places. The county also approved development of a visitation model to track visitor volumes and origins by season, using available data sources.
Thank you,
Ben Fredregill
Economic Development Director
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Better Destinations
Better Destinations is a consultancy founded in 2021 on a belief that healthy visitor economies grow from addressing a full range of considerations and engaging stakeholders in shaping destination priorities. The consultancy draws upon Founder Cathy Ritter’s decade of experience as state tourism director for both Colorado and Illinois and record of creating insight-led solutions, especially relating to sustainable travel. Her practice is focused on seeking common ground and alignment for solutions that address top concerns and draw wide support. Learnings from her work for the Town of Vail, the Lake Tahoe region, Travel Nevada, Glacier Country Tourism MT, and Missoula are especially relevant for Grand County.
Nichols Tourism Group
Nichols Tourism Group (NTG) has created highly regarded plans for numerous U.S. destinations for nearly 30 years. These include the highly esteemed Sedona Sustainable Tourism Plan, which led the way nationally in 2018 by mapping out a destination's path to a more sustainable tourism economy. NTG President Mitch Nichols also was lead consultant for the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service in a four-year planning effort creating a new arrival experience for visitors to Grand Canyon National Park. Nichols also spent nearly 20 years conducting hundreds of market and feasibility studies for Coopers & Lybrand and served as director for the City of Phoenix AZ Economic Development Department.
RRC Associates
RRC Associates is a consumer insights and consulting firm founded in 1983, specializing in providing market and planning insights to governments, communities, and industries across the U.S. and Canada. The company has completed more than 1,000 successful projects equipping clients with a better understanding of their socioeconomic conditions and implications of management decisions and investment. The firm is a nationwide partner for the National Park Service and currently is conducting park-based work across Southern Utah. The team assembled for Grand County includes, Chief Operating Officer Jake Jorgenson, Ph.D.; Jeremy Sage, Ph.D., Director of Economic and Tourism Research; and David Becher, Director of Community and Visitor Research.
State of Utah
Grand County General Plan 2030.pdf (16.3 MB) (pdf)
