Should Utah host the 1998 Winter Olympics, Utahns would see $1 billion in economic benefit and an eight-year employment boom, a top state planner said.
Brad Barber, director of demographic and economic analyst with the Utah Office of Planning and Budget, said the Winter Games could be the springboard for a boom that might reverse a trend of out-migration of young people, but isn't likely to translate into dramatic growth in the ski and tourism industries.Barber told the Utah Chapter of the American Planning Association meeting at Snowbird Friday if the International Olympic Committee selects Utah as the site of the 1998 Winter Games, a boom in employment would likely occur - starting with 250 new jobs in 1992 and growing to 9,500 the year of the Olympics and declining to about 150 by the year 2000.
It is estimated that 150,000 visitors would spend an average of six days in Utah during the Games. On any given day, there would be 70,000 people in the area. Visitors would need about 16,500 hotel rooms. There are currently about 15,000 rooms in Salt Lake City, Provo, Ogden and Park City, Barber said.
The experience of Calgary and other sites of Winter Olympics shows that there are noticeable, but not phenomenal, long-term growth trends in tourism and the number of skiers who visit area resorts after the Olympics are over.
That's good news to skiers who worry about long lift lines during and after the Olympics. In fact, during the Olympics in Calgary, skier days dropped, because everyone was watching the Olympics, Barber said.
"It's not that suddenly the Olympics completely changes the ski industry. Are there benefits to the ski industry? I think so. Does it take off and dramatically change the ski industry? It might, but there is certainly no evidence that has been the case in the past," Barber said.
While there was an immediate impact from tourists during Calgary's Winter Games, the biggest beneficiaries of the Olympics were national parks in the area - summer visits there rose 8 percent after the Games.
"Is the tourist industry benefited by something like the Olympic Games? Yes, I think it is, but again I'm not sure it is the phenomenal growth that you might think," Barber said.
Barber suggested that the Olympics may prove most beneficial in serving as a catalyst for development of long-term economic and environmental plans for the state. The Wasatch Canyon Master Plan was one of the first fruits of planning spawned by the Olympics.
In addition, Barber said he likes the idea of holding an "Environmental Olympics" in conjunction with the Winter Games that could identify the state as a leader in protecting the environment.
He said unemployment and Utah's trend of out-migration may also be slowed by the Olympics.
Comparing Edmonton and Calgary, population growth in Edmonton slowed after the end of an oil boom. Calgary's population growth slowed after the boom and then revived, remaining healthy after the city received the 1988 Winter Olympics bid. Calgary now has lower unemployment rates than Edmonton.
"Calgary, it would appear, has been helped somewhat, in terms of growth, by the Olympic Games," he said.
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(ADDITIONAL INFORMATION)
Olympic side effects:
- $1 billion in economic benefits
- A boom cycle peaking at 9,500 new jobs in 1998
- 1 million visitor days
Source: Utah Office of Planning and Budget