Park City sees 9% drop in transient room tax as winter season underperforms

Photo: Park City Chamber & Visitors Bureau

Summit County, Utah — Tourism remains a central driver of Park City and Summit County’s economy, but winter lodging bookings are pacing behind last season, and transient room tax collections finished 2025 down year over year, the Park City Chamber and Visitors Bureau told the Summit County Council on Wednesday.

Citing the county’s most recent tourism economic impact study using 2023 data, Chamber President and CEO Jennifer Wesselhoff said tourism generated more than $2 billion in economic impact, nearly 15,000 jobs, over $800 million in wages, about 3.7 million overnight visitors, and nearly $250 million in state and local tax revenue.

In a review of tourism-related tax collections tracked through December, Wesselhoff said most categories were relatively stable, with sales tax down 0.2% and restaurant tax up 2%. Recreation, arts, and parks taxes were down about 1%, she said. Transient room tax collections finished 2025 down 9%.

Wesselhoff described the outlook for 2025 and 2026 as uncertain and said forecasting remains difficult amid mixed economic signals.

She emphasized the winter season’s outsized influence on local businesses and cited a Chamber research study conducted with Ski Utah. Wesselhoff said the ski industry totals about $2.5 billion statewide, with Summit County accounting for more than $1.3 billion, and that many businesses report earning 60% to 75% of annual revenue during winter.

To gauge near-term demand, Wesselhoff shared lodging data from Destimetrics, which she said tracks about 40% of Park City and Summit County’s lodging inventory. With data current through the end of December, she said December finished about 4% below the prior year, with January down 6%, February down 10%, and March down 9% compared with last year’s pace.

She said April showed a sharp spike because a large group booking was on the books as of Dec. 31, but not at the same time the prior year, highlighting the importance of group travel in filling slower periods.

Councilor Hansen questioned whether the Destimetrics sample might understate the overall decline if it is weighted toward higher-end properties. Wesselhoff agreed the broader market could be down more and said tax collections are the clearest measure, with December performance expected to show up in the next reporting cycle.

Wesselhoff also highlighted Chamber initiatives focused on workforce support and sustainable tourism, including a seasonal worker resource guide developed with partners, a small-business medical insurance program, and a Visit Park City app she described as AI-generated and designed to create customized itineraries. She also pointed to a green business program and a lodging sustainability toolkit developed with partners.

Turning to the Chamber’s role as the county’s Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, Wesselhoff referenced the state transient room tax law, which assigns an advisory role in recommending uses for certain TRT project funds. She urged the council to use the county’s 10-year sustainable tourism plan — which she said was unanimously supported three years ago — as a guide for future spending decisions.

She said the advisory board is developing a tourism development assessment and plans to prioritize recommendations at a March retreat, including indoor activities, more options for kids, resiliency and economic diversification, and potential medium-sized or large events aligned with the area’s “brand pillars,” which she said has taken on added importance with the loss of Sundance.

The Chamber’s update follows a recent TownLift report that Park City’s transient room tax collections fell 29.3% in October compared with the prior year, while city staff and Chamber officials said the drop likely reflected collection timing rather than a sustained slowdown in visitor spending.