Un-Citified
Emery County looks to play off ‘brand’
of San Rafael Swell to entice vacationers to the area
James L. Davis
There’s nothing citified about the San Rafael Swell. For those who make the journey to Emery County, most aren’t looking for a climate controlled experience, they are looking to get dirty, go a little extreme and have a lot of fun.
When it comes to developing a marketing brand for Emery County, it already has one uniquely its own in the San Rafael Swell. The trick is to develop the brand in such a way that it benefits the people and businesses of the county, which has been no small feat for those looking to capture tourist dollars.
In years past the county has pooled its tourist efforts with Carbon County and the Castle Country Travel Bureau, but a change of philosophy by county planners has resulted in a renewed focus by the Emery County Travel Bureau on the San Rafael Swell rather than other attractions in the area.
“We’ve just come to the conclusion that we need to invest our travel money in a way that we have a return on our investment,” said Mike McCandless, director of Emery County Economic Development. “And the way that money is returned is that we fill up the motels and hotels in Emery County, which is primarily in Green River, Huntington, Castle Dale and Ferron.”
Developing a marketing strategy that focuses on the Swell means that when it comes to tourism, the county will for the most part go it alone. Completely contained within Emery County, the San Rafael Swell is a giant playground for the extreme, and one the county is striving to develop strategies for that will benefit businesses of the county.
“We want to make sure that we promote our San Rafael more so than we promote things on the mountain. It is very difficult for us to realize any revenue from activities that are promoted on Skyline Drive. How are they going to get there? They are going to buy their fuel from Fairview or someplace like that and we’ll never see them,” McCandless said. “That doesn’t mean we’re giving up on the mountain and don’t think it’s important, it’s still part of our strategy, but when we do our promotional efforts, that’s our first consideration, so we are trying to re-brand ourselves and that brand is the San Rafael country. We actually think that’s a more recognizable name than Castle Country. The San Rafael is known world wide.”
Focusing on the San Rafael also means that the county will try to attract tourists to events that will keep them (and their dollars) in the county, which has long been a problem.
“We’ve been in a relationship with Carbon County and the Castle Country Travel Bureau and we’re not abandoning Carbon County, but frankly, on many of the activities we end up filling up Price hotel rooms when there are more hotel rooms in Green River,” McCandless said. “We’re not in any kind of fight with Carbon County, they’re one of our best partners and we will continue to work with them very closely, but we believe we have a slightly different clientele who are interested in coming to our area then in the way they market. We see the more extreme visitors, the mountain bikers, the river runners. Carbon County is targeting more of the museum goers, the Nine Mile Canyon viewing visitors, more of the family type of market. Our clientele are more inclined to bring a four-wheeler with them or horses. They are more focused on the activities that you can do in the Swell than the amenities we can offer once you get here.”
Areas of the Swell the travel bureau will focus attention on include attractions such as Goblin Valley, the Wedge, and Swinging Bridge and many of the activities that the county will use to lure visitors in are events that are, for the most part, already in existence. Events such as the Castle Valley Pageant, the Emery County Fair and the individual city celebrations held in the county are a draw for visitors. Events such as MECCA’s San Rafael Swell Bike Festival in September and the ATV poker rides, such as the Swell Cure for Cabin Fever ride held April 12, draw hundreds of visitors to the county each year. This year a triathlon and a marathon will also draw a league of athletes (and their families and friends) to the county.
“These are largely existing activities; we just need to do a better job of promoting them. We don’t want to put all of our eggs in one basket. Our focus is that activities like the pageant, like the fair, will get them to come here and spend more than just one day here. Those who say there isn’t anything to do in Emery County, well that just isn’t true anymore,” McCandless said.
During the summer months the possibilities to draw tourists to the area exist every week, so much so that many events overlap, creating possibilities to keep visitors to the area for extended stays.
As the travel bureau works to take advantage of and define the brand of the San Rafael Swell, the hope is that the number of possibilities for activities in the county to draw visitors will grow ever larger.
“The San Rafael has a brand that has already been established, we’re just going to find ways to take advantage of that brand and use it to generate revenue, rather than just have the people impact us and have no benefit,” McCandless said.
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