Officials set up 'fam' trips for journalists and tour operators

State tourism officials are working to get more international travelers to visit Utah, sometimes going overseas and sometimes bringing in outsiders.

Displaying Utah's attractions at a travel expo in China and conducting "fam," or familiarization, tours for foreign travel journalists and tour operators are part of that strategy.

"That's a burgeoning market," Utah Office of Tourism Director Leigh von der Esch told the Board of Tourism Development on Friday, referring to China.

On the heels of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s trade mission to China, Utah tourism representatives in November worked a booth at the China International Trade Mart in Shanghai, collaborating with Arizona reps to promote national parks in the American West. It was Utah's first-ever participation in the event, Asia is largest tourism gathering.

Utah's tourism representatives met more than 70 Chinese tour operators and media at the event, according to Tracie Cayford, deputy director of the tourism office.
Cayford said Utah has "great potential" to lure Chinese tourists who already have traveled to San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and other cities and want to visit inland areas and national parks.

She noted that the U.S. is China's eighth-largest travel market, with the other seven being in Asia. Chinese visitors often stay as long as 14 to 21 days, and by 2020, China is expected to have 100 million annual outbound travelers.

"So you can see, this is an emerging market we're excited to tap," Cayford told the board.

As for the fam tours, Utah travel representatives coordinate with Ski Utah, convention and visitors bureaus, airlines, RV and car rental companies to organize visits by tour operators and travel journalists from outside the U.S.

In fiscal 2006, the office conducted 46 tours with 205 participants. Thirty-one tours were from international visitors, 10 were domestic and five were a combination. The foreign visitors were from the United Kingdom, Belgium, Argentina, France, Brazil, Germany, Japan, China, Italy, Canada and the Netherlands.

In fiscal 2007, the office figures the total will be 57 tours with 318 participants. Thirty-six are expected to be international and 21 domestic, and Scandinavia and Korea have been added.

The figures are very different from just a few years back when 14 FAM tours were conducted.

Among the results are Utah destination stories in international publications, such as magazines in Argentina and Hungary.