SALT LAKE CITY — After a handful of years away from Salt Lake City, the Outdoor Retailer Trade Show has announced its return to Utah which should bring an added boost to local economy.
“There are 158 restaurants and retailers who are very happy to see this happen,” said Dee Brewer, Executive Director for the Downtown Alliance. “This particular event brings 40 million dollars of economic impact with it each year, but it really ripples out larger than that.”
Read - Outdoor Retailer show to return to Utah
Brewer says the hospitality business across Utah should see the ripple effect of the large-scale event. The return of the trade show could help those businesses that have seen a decline since it left for Denver in 2017.
“When they left, for us it was a big deal because it was one of our bigger clients,” said Isaac Gonzalez, who owns event production company Fat Fish Media. He says the company worked on 14 Outdoor Retailer Shows over the course of seven years. “I think the city is built for the event, I think it was hard when it was in Denver.”
Read - Cox on Outdoor Retailer show: 'We did not miss them at all'
Local businesses located a stones-throw from the Salt Palace Convention Center and thenewly constructed Hyatt Regency Salt Lake Hotel are expecting an additional boost in patrons.
“All of the people that come in for conferences when they get to Salt Lake they’re like what do we do here, what’s going on in Salt Lake and we love being one of those first touch points to say that this city has so much to offer,” said Sydney Inks, Assistant General Manager at Ivy and Varley, a restaurant and bar located on 100 S. “As things have gone on, business is coming back downtown so we’re definitely, we’re just seeing a lot of foot traffic which is really awesome.”
