SALTY LAKE CITY — Lawmakers have argued that the 1.6% increase in the hotel tax will burden out-of-state visitors when it comes to a possible new baseball stadium in Salt Lake City, but a report by the University of Utah claims that might not necessarily be true.
That report, published earlier this month by the University of Utah Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, finds Utahns contributed over 16% of the nearly 12 billion spent on tourism in 2022. 39% of tourists were Utahn who also spent a third of their budget on lodging compared to out-of-state visitors who only spent a fourth of their budget on lodging.
This introduced hotel tax increase is set to boost development for the new major league baseball stadium and development adjacent to the State Fair Park.
While out-of-state visitors do stand to pay for most of the increased hotel tax, so do many Utahns booking lodges during their visits.
You can find the full report available online here.
