Dear Industry Members,
As we start off the New Year, we wanted to place UTIA’s mission at the forefront of our industry messaging. This mission statement was built by our Board of Directors with the intent to provide a clear vision for UTIA’s ongoing efforts. The Utah Tourism Industry Association is
The collective voice of Utah’s tourism industry. We advocate and educate to enhance Utah’s economy and quality of life
January was officially declared as National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. To build awareness in your organizations and with your staff, we encourage you to review AHLA and AHLA Foundation’s No Room for Trafficking program. This awareness program builds on the industry’s ongoing commitment and work to end human trafficking - which includes free training.
With the start of the legislative session, we invite you to join us tonight as we tune in to the State of State address followed by the Democratic response at 6:30 PM. This will be live-streamed on PBS’ Facebook.
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Now more than ever, it is imperative that we have all our membership engaged in telling the story of how Tourism Works. Be sure to prepare for the 2022 Legislative Session by reviewing the checklist we released earlier this week.
A friendly reminder that registration for the 2022 Tourism Day on the Hill is live. We will start with our Annual Full Membership Meeting which will include a report from UOT, Kem C Gardner, as well as an overview of our legislative priorities. We invite all industry partners to attend as it is critical that we come together to show our united voice as an industry.
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On January  25, 2022, our industry will come together to celebrate National #PlanForVacation Day (NPVD), a day to encourage Americans to plan their vacation days for the whole year at the start of the year.
Why it matters: Survey findings have continuously shown that vacation days are not being used, negatively affecting mental health, personal relationships and job performance.
Learn more by visiting: https://www.ustravel.org/events/national-plan-vacation-day
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AHLA RELEASES HOTELS ACTION ALERT: SUPPORT H.R. 3897: THE H-2B RETURNING WORKER EXEMPTION ACT
Earlier this month, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it had received requests for more than 136,000 H-2B workers and there are only 33,000 available under the congressionally authorized statutory cap. To provide additional relief under the H-2B cap, Reps. Cuellar (D-TX), Joyce R-OH), Keating (D-MA), Chabot (R-OH), Pingree (D-ME) and Harris (R-MD) introduced H.R. 3897, the "H-2B Returning Worker Exemption Act" which would provide for a returning worker exemption coupled with integrity measures to strengthen the H-2B visa program.
Many hotels rely on the H-2B program to augment their domestic workforce during their peak season to ensure they can operate at full capacity. With ongoing concerns due to OMICRON and COVID-19 pandemic, combined with an acute workforce shortage, access to H-2B visas are more crucial now than ever before especially for the lodging industry.
AHLA needs your help to urge your representative to co-sponsor H.R. 3897. ACT NOW and urge your Representative to co-sponsor the Returning Worker Exemption Act of 2021.
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SUPREME COURT BLOCKS VACCINE TESTING MANDATE
The Supreme Court last Thursday blocked the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 requirement that employers of 100+ employees require vaccination or weekly testing, while allowing a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers at facilities that participate in Medicaid and Medicare. The Court’s decision caps off months of legal challenges to the Administration’s efforts to increase vaccination rates in the workplace. The Biden Administration’s federal contractor vaccine mandate continues to be in a stay following December’s ruling by a federal court.
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NATIONAL HUMAN TRAFFICKING MONTH
On January 26 at 10 am PST, AHLA will join It’s A Penalty, A21, the California Hotel & Lodging Association, the Hotel Association of Los Angeles, and major hotel brands to launch It’s A Penalty’s 2022 Super Bowl Campaign to harness the power of sports to fight human trafficking.
As part of this effort, AHLA will hold a short, hybrid training for hotel employees at 11am PST at the Hotel Indigo Los Angeles Downtown, an IHG Hotel to raise awareness about how to spot and report instances of trafficking. Register by clicking here.
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LABOR + EMPLOYEE RESOURCES
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Want to be a Guest Speaker?
We are currently looking for tourism industry guest speakers in support of our high school tourism and hospitality course which teaches students the basics of the industry and prepares them for future employment opportunities.
Currently Seeking:
Professionals currently employed in the tourism industry who would enjoy speaking to classrooms of up to 35 students about their career path, day-to-day job functions, and the future employment or internship possibilities at your company and/or sector of the industry.
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To volunteer as a guest speaker, or if you have any questions on the program, please email cicily@utahtourism.org
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WEBINAR ABOUT WINTER 2022-2023 H-2B VISA PETITIONS
Thursday, February 3rd at 12pm MST - Don’t miss our important upcoming webinar for winter-season organizations relating to planning for your 2022-2023 season. Planning is more important than ever for winter-season properties due to the unprecedented demand for H-2B visas. And for you summer organizations, this is a great chance to see what your winter-season counterparts will be faced with heading into their upcoming filings.
As a reminder, work on winter-season petitions in early April each year.
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NEW INDUSTRY TRAINING PROGRAM
The pandemic has affected so many aspects of the state’s tourism industry, and businesses are still learning how to adapt. To build a more resilient tourism industry, the Utah Office of Tourism and Utah State University will be launching the Red Emerald Resilience training program in 2022. The program will share success stories, best practices, and lessons learned from the past two years. We need your input to better understand what types of information and resources could help your organization thrive throughout this year and beyond.
Provide your input on the Red Emerald Resilience Training Program HERE.
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SEASONAL WORKER RESOURCES
Are you aiming to hire professional seasonal workers? Do you need seasonal employees that will be engaged and committed to their roles? How do you hire the best people for the job?
Check out this article surrounding essential tips for hiring successful seasonal workers at your organization: https://www.speakap.com/en/blog/tips-seasonal-workers-communication.
This article is a small example of one of the many resources that Seasonal Connect can provide to UTIA’s members! Through our platform and community, we aim to discuss challenges that are specific to the seasonal employment world. Through our virtual and in-person events, Seasonal Connect helps organizations find solutions to their most pressing issues surrounding recruiting, housing, and daily transportation.
If you would like to join, UTIA has a special discount code which is UTIA21. This provides a discount of 10% monthly fees. You can sign up at https://employerportal.seasonalconnect.com/SignUpEmployers.
Please let us know if you have any questions at info@seasonalconnect.com. We are always here to help, show you around the platform, and would love for you to join organizations from Utah and around the country in becoming part of the Seasonal Connect community!
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The Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation offers grants that can support the building of trails and other recreation infrastructure projects throughout the state.
Utah Outdoor Recreation Grant: For the funding of NEW outdoor infrastructure amenities we offer three categories of funding. From a mini-grant to the Regional Asset Tier.
Recreation Restoration Infrastructure (RRI) Grants for major repair or replacement of developed recreation infrastructure on public land
Utah Outdoor Classroom Grant: Mini-grant for infrastructure to support outdoor-based programming and education.
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NEW + RENEWING MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
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Our business is branding organizations, re-branding organizations and rejuvenating the brands of organizations. In fact, we have a simple philosophy that directs everything we do: "Drive sales overnight and build brand over time."
Creating an emotional connection is what we do really well, and what we do everyday. We take our gamut of services -- brand development and creative production, media planning and buying, account management and brand implementation, PR and community outreach -- and provide those services to our clients, all under the Love "brand" umbrella.
Our job is to make your message stick and make your customers take notice. And Love Communications' whole-is-greater-than-the-sum-of-its parts approach is yet another reason we remind you that all you need is Love. Learn more: https://lovecomm.net/
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Serving Utah businesses for over 100 years.
Model Linen was first established in Ogden, Utah in 1917. As a family-owned business, we have always held strong to our commitment to superior quality, customer service, sustainability, and community support. When you use Model Linen’s products in your place of business, your customers’ satisfaction is assured. Learn more: https://modellinen.com
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Rocky Mountaineer offers luxury train journeys through Western Canada and the American Southwest. Our world-renowned train travels by daylight and is the best way to experience some of the most spectacular scenery North America has to offer.
Learn more: https://www.rockymountaineer.com/
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Chadwick Booth and Company is a broadcast Television production company specializing in the development of Niche series development, documentaries and internet based information campaigns.
Contact for more info: chad@ayltv.com
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 We are a team that embraces heartfelt hospitality so that we enhance the lives of our guests, team members, partners, communities, and families for generations to come.
Learn more: http://www.wittwerhospitality.com
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The Tourism Industry Insider is a regular communication providing Utah Tourism Industry partners and stakeholders with a skim and regular communication on industry legislative affairs, industry news, funding and resources, and more.
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