Pre-war (1900 to 1930s) In the early nineteenth century, skiing simply started off as a way for people to move from one point to another, especially, in snowy winter months with limited mobility. The first persons who used skis were
trappers, miners and mountain dwellers. In mining towns such as Alta, which on average received five-hundred inches on snow per year, skis were an essential means of transportation. As skiing developed, it became a popular recreational activity. All through the
Wasatch Range, ski clubs and trails were created, which attracted skiers, hikers, and climbers. The
Wasatch Mountain Club, founded by Charles T. Stoney in 1912, was the most successful of the first clubs. Skiing expeditions throughout the Wasatch mountains near
Park City, Brighton, and Alta were organized and the first touring groups were established. During the late 1910s and 1920s, the Wasatch Mountain Club started to expand their touring groups which extended as far as Ogden. During the first year the lift was plagued with problems and only operated sporadically, but later modifications greatly improved the lifts which allowed beginners and experienced skiers to go up and down the mountains with ease. In 1941, when the United States entered
World War II, the demand for skiing and other recreational activities decreased. Many, but not all, ski resorts were converted into training camps for paratroopers and specific rescue groups of the U.S. military. The resorts that were reserved for recreation were commonly used for
alpine skiing. Alpine skiing increased in popularity and more competitions were created. For example, Alta started the famous Snow Cup tournament in 1940 and
Snowbasin hosted the US National downhill slalom and combined ski championships in 1947. The 1948
US Winter Olympic team included a large contingent of Utah skiers. During the latter part of the war, winter recreation surged in popularity once again and ski resorts were often operating at full capacity.
Alta and
Brighton alone received 44,000 skiers during the 1944–45 winter season. The film was the first official, far-reaching advertising campaign. State government conducted research at this time which concluded that winter sports recreation brought in two and a half times more revenue than summer recreation leading to even more money spent on advertising. In the 1960s, the Utah Travel Council claimed that "Utah possesses some of the finest skiing terrain in the world." The council made brochures advertising which resorts were the best and created labels such as "Romantic Alta" and "Beautiful Brighton."
"Ski Utah" D. James Cannon, known as Jim Cannon, first came up with the "Ski Utah!" brand, which caught on with skiing fans and boosted Utah's tourism industry. Shortly after, he coined the slogan "The Greatest Snow on Earth" — the phrase that was eventually printed on
Utah license plates in 1985. The Travel Council exhibited these ski slogans on many billboards all over the state and created advertisements which were displayed at
extreme sport conferences in
Los Angeles,
Oakland,
Chicago, and
New Jersey. The "Ski Utah!" brand captured over four percent of the ski market, and by the end of the century, it increased to 5.5 percent market. By 1972, tourism was ranked as the second largest industry in Utah and generated nearly $209 million per year for the state.
Utahn Inc. To get more Utahns interested in the development of the tourist industry, Utahn Inc. was created, which consisted of the chamber of commerce, various hotels, transportation and touring companies, amusement parks, ski resorts, and park agencies. This organization was successful in promoting economic activity in the state and was largely responsible for developing
Park City's Ski industry. In 1962, it helped the United Park City Mines company stay afloat and helped build the Treasure Mountain Ski resort, which was eventually renamed as the
Park City Mountain Resort. The advertising eventually paid off; ski visits increased from 195,000 in 1960 to 649,000 in 1970.
Changing laws Utah's culture, which has much of its history rooted in the
Mormon religion, enacted
Utah liquor laws that limited the availability of alcohol. Since Utah felt they needed to compete with Colorado's ski industry, they decided to establish new liquor laws for the purpose of attracting more tourists. The new laws did what they were designed to do—they drew in many more tourists. Utah ski promoters spent over $50 million on advertisements every year to compete with Colorado, and In 1989, Utah ranked fourth in the
Rocky Mountain region for attracting the most tourists to their state, right behind
Colorado,
Arizona, and
Nevada).
Impact of the 2002 Olympics Dick Ebersol, Chairman of
NBC Sports stated this in regards to the Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games: "Far and away, the most successful
Olympics, summer or winter, in history." Salt Lake City's
2002 Winter Olympics led to an economic boom for Utah's ski industry. Skier visits rose 42% from 2002-2011 including a 70% growth in out-of-state skiers from 2002-2011. In total, foreign and U.S. visitors grew from 17.3 million to 20.2 million (in 2010) and direct expenditures from skiers and snowboarders resulted in a 67% increase in revenue for Utah of $704 million in 2002-03 to $1.2 billion in 2010-11. Moreover, the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation also distributed over $120 million in sports related programs and operations at
Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns and
Utah Olympic Park near Park City. Since hosting the 2002
Winter Games, Utah has hosted over 60 World Cup events as well as 7 world championships and numerous other sporting events. Following the Olympic games, Utah has become a training hub for 38 USA world-class athletes, including 13 athletes from the state. == Future developments ==