Sustainable Tourism Plan 

Developed in the spring of 2022, the Sustainable Tourism Plan for Park City and Summit County intends to create a future where we consider community and environmental benefits with the same weight as economic benefits, resulting in a thriving community and welcoming destination. The plan was developed in collaboration with diverse community stakeholders to create a long-range sustainable destination plan with these principles in mind:

Stewardship Principles

  • Value and respect the health of our local environment and natural resources 
  • Foster our local spirit, our values, our sense of place, and the wellbeing of our community—residents, employers, employees, and visitors alike  
  • Ensure that benefits of the visitor economy are shared equitably by people of all races, ages, gender identities, sexual orientations, abilities, income levels, and by Summit County’s communities  
  • Enable Summit County’s tourism industry to lead by example, championing tourism’s benefits, mitigating its impacts, and harnessing its regenerative power for the community and the environment   
  • Be bold, creative, and action-focused, supporting transparency and measurable outcomes 

83 Projects in Progress

Right now, we are all hard at work to make Park City’s vision of a sustainable future a reality. Take a look at our efforts below.

[Number of projects as of 07/26/23]

Seven Key Objectives

The following objectives represent the high-level categories of work our community is undertaking to achieve its vision of sustainable tourism. Each one supports multiple Stewardship Principles and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Objective 1

Cultivate local pride and respect for the Park City & Summit County experience.

The strength and longevity of our visitor economy is in part connected to local support of tourism. The initiatives within this objective seek to grow local pride and character, deepen the connection between the local population and the visitor economy as it evolves, and seek to maintain a high level of local engagement.

10 Projects in Progress

Objective 2

Implement sustainable transportation, housing, water, energy, and waste management policies and initiatives.

This objective fosters the successful development and implementation of regional plans that support sustainable infrastructure in and surrounding Summit County, including land use, development, and sustainability policies at the local and state level that impact a sustainable visitor economy.

17 Projects in Progress

Objective 3

Protect and manage our natural environment to enable sustainable outdoor recreation.

Park City and Summit County’s visitor economy relies on our beautiful natural resources, which are threatened by environmental changes such as wildfires, drought, and changing snowpack. This objective creates initiatives to support the preservation of these all-important natural assets.

13 Projects in Progress

Objective 4

Ensure the long-term resilience of the Park City & Summit County economy.

The travel industry is one of the larger components of the Park City and, to a lesser extent, the Summit County economy. However, the dual global experiences of the pandemic and climate change have demonstrated that no community is buffered from the impact of external forces. If visitation declines, the $1B industry will be at risk, affecting direct travel employment in accommodations, retail, restaurants, and resorts, and indirect travel employment across other sectors. Preparing for uncertainty by developing resilience plans will help facilitate responsiveness in the face of change.

6 Projects in Progress

Objective 5

Equalize the economic benefits and mitigate impacts of the visitor economy.

The positive contributions of visitation to Summit County’s economy have been significant and undeniable, but they have also tended to concentrate within a small subset of the community. Additionally, some unintended consequences of the visitor economy have disproportionately affected residents and workers with lower household incomes. This objective seeks to both better distribute positive impacts and to mitigate negative impacts for all.

18 Projects in Progress

Objective 6

Leverage messaging and programming to accelerate sustainable tourism.

To be better positioned to carry out the work of this Sustainable Tourism Plan, the Park City Chamber & Visitor’s Bureau and community partners are reviewing general operations, media and advertising relationships, and programming to ensure they reflect the stewardship principles and sustainable vision for Park City and Summit County.

11 Projects in Progress

Objective 7 

Foster the development and management of Summit County’s art and culture tourism assets.

In 2018, the Summit County creative community collaborated to articulate and build a road map for the future vitality and sustainability of arts and culture in the region: the Project ABC (Art, Beauty, Culture) Cultural Plan. And now, we’re building upon Project ABC to cultivate and promote Summit County’s cultural sectors.

8 Projects in Progress