Does Utah really want to become a tourist destination? Do we want to keep tourists out of the state and “bubbleize” our communities? It definitely appears that way after meetings recently about Utah tourism and liquor laws.
Ski Utah President Nathan Rafferty told of a reporter from San Diego who came to Salt Lake City to write a ski story but had such a hard time navigating private club rules that when he met with ski industry officials later for dinner, “guess what we talked about all night. Guess what he led his story with?
“We can’t control the weather. We can’t control fuel prices or what airlines fly into the Salt Lake airport. But we can control our liquor laws,” said Rafferty, contending the $1 billion skiing and $6 billion tourism industries will benefit greatly from making it less confusing for visitors to get an alcoholic beverage.
Utah restaurants, too, said Utah Restaurant Association official Hans Fuegi, who also is on Utah’s tourism development board. “The Zion Curtain issue is very, very confusing,” he said of several provisions – such as a ban on restaurant bartenders handing a drink over the bar to a customer – he thinks should be eliminated.
Representative of Citizens for Families, the Coalition for Ethics and Accountability in Government, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and United Women’s Forum argued against any changes that suggest it is easier to get alcohol in Utah.
“That would have a negative, very adverse effect on youth,” said Valerie Mills of Citizens for Families. “We cannot sell them out for increased hospitality.”
Coalition spokesman Phil Wright added that Utah’s top tourist attraction is the LDS Temple. Most people visiting it “won’t do so with a bottle of Jack Daniels under their arm,” he predicted, encouraging the commission “not to change laws that have served Utah so well for so many years.”
Proposed changes to the state’s liquor laws are expected to be presented to the Legislature in January.
What are your thoughts on the subject? Do you think Utah’s Liquor Laws should change to invite more tourists or are things ok the way they are?