Utah State University is offering specialized economic development studies and visitor monitoring services designed to help communities, agencies, and partners navigate the complexities of growing recreation and tourism industries. The programs provide data-driven frameworks to evaluate the feasibility, impacts, and long-term consequences of investments in outdoor recreation and destination development.
Economic Impact Analysis and Planning
The economic development studies provided by the university aim to move beyond generic tourism promotion by helping partners understand the specific effects and trade-offs of various investments. These studies are intended to provide a clearer basis for public investment, grant applications, and long-term strategic planning.
Quantifying Regional Growth
Through economic impact analysis, the program estimates how investments in recreation and tourism affect critical metrics such as jobs, labor income, gross regional product, business activity, and tax revenues. The analysis quantifies the direct, indirect, and induced effects resulting from visitor spending and development investments.
Strategic Scenario Modeling
The studies also assist with feasibility and scenario planning by identifying existing assets, market opportunities, and development bottlenecks. This process allows partners to evaluate multiple future scenarios that vary in terms of complexity, cost, timeframe, and likely economic return. These recommendations are intended to be grounded in stakeholder input to ensure proposed paths reflect local priorities rather than just external demand.
Data-Driven Visitor Monitoring
In addition to economic studies, the university offers a tiered visitor monitoring framework to address the increasing pressure on agencies to understand recreation use patterns. These monitoring services provide defensible data that supports infrastructure investment, staffing decisions, impact management, and funding requests to elected officials and the public.
Tiered Monitoring Framework
The visitor monitoring program is organized into three distinct tiers. Tier 1, labeled as Baseline Monitoring, focuses on establishing defensible visitor use counts through a low-effort, repeatable approach. This tier utilizes automated counters installed and maintained by the university's team to provide quarterly use summaries.
Advanced Research and Diagnostics
Tier 2, defined as Monitoring and Diagnostics, combines visitor counts with on-site diagnostics to provide context regarding visitor characteristics and economic insight. This tier provides expanded quarterly reports that integrate use, visitor, and economic data. Tier 3, or Targeted Monitoring and Research, is designed to answer specific, high-priority management questions through customized designs that combine monitoring with targeted surveys.
Service Costs and Deliverables
The cost of these monitoring services varies by the depth of data required. Tier 1 monitoring for five locations starts at $16,500 per year, with an additional $2,150 for each additional site. Tier 2 services for five locations start at $73,000 per year, with an additional $9,200 per additional site. Tier 3 services start at $120,000. The university provides various deliverables depending on the tier, including quarterly summaries, integrated reports, and final technical reports with optional briefings.
