TORONTO — ‘Matinee & Mingle’ was the movie-themed event at a recent media event at the Shangri-La Hotel in downtown Toronto.
The Canadian travel media mission, hosted by the Utah Office of Tourism (UOT), consisted of a three-city tour: Vancouver (May 29) and Calgary (May 30), with Toronto as its final stop (May 31).
Its purpose was to celebrate Utah proudly, marking 100 years of film this year.
Partners also joined UOT, including Visit Salt Lake City, The Heber Valley, Visit Cedar City, Rocky Mountaineer and Air Canada. All warmly welcomed industry friends at the in-person event.
While Utah is best known for its ‘Mighty 5’ National Parks and is a mecca for adventurers, it has also made a name for itself in the film sector. The ‘set-jetting’ trend of travellers visiting destinations featured in movies and TV shows continues to grow and influence the travel industry.
For an insider’s look into understanding Utah’s film story, UOT brought in expert Virginia Pierce, executive director of the Utah Film Commission, for insight into the history of Utah—America’s Film Set.
“It’s an interesting time for travellers and film lovers visiting Utah. Over the last 10 years, US$6 billion has been spent by those travellers coming to Utah to see what they’ve seen on screen for themselves,” said Pierce.
Utah’s diverse and unique landscapes attract audiences worldwide, and Westerns have remained the genre of choice for many years.
Not surprisingly, Utah has seen numerous great films shot with these landscapes, such as Thelma & Louise, Westworld, Forrest Gump – where he took his final run – and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, to name a few.
“Today, these are all places that you can visit as an intrepid traveller, and they still all look very much the same,” said Pierce.
To celebrate the special anniversary and iconic films, Utah will have a year-long exhibition of monthly events at the state capital of Salt Lake City. These include Kevin Bacon returning to Payson, UT, for the 40th anniversary of the movie Footloose, and the introduction of a Utah Film Trail with inaugural historical markers placed across the state for visitors to follow this summer.
FOREVER MIGHTY PRINCIPLES
Utah’s promotion of responsible travel started long before other destinations, and since the pandemic, it has become common practice to make charitable donations aligned with Canadian events.
“Forever mighty, for new people, is our responsible travel and stewardship ethos,” said Zach Fyne, Global Markets Specialist.
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve donated to organizations that align with our diversity, equity, and inclusion in the outdoors.”
In keeping with that spirit, UOT has donated to Kevin Bacon’s Six Degrees, which has set a goal to deliver 40,000 essential resource kits to those in need in honour of Footloose’s 40th anniversary.
AIR CANADA UPDATE
Air Canada’s nonstop Toronto – Salt Lake City route will operate a summer schedule from May to 
October, with four weekly flights on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
Outside of the summer season, Air Canada has a joint venture with United Airlines that offers a wide range of services through key hubs: San Francisco, Denver, and Chicago.
SWEET ENDING
With more craft chocolatiers per capita in the U.S., Saveur Magazine has called Utah the Craft Chocolate Capital of America and boxes of chocolates were given to each attendee.
As Tom Hanks famously said in the shot-in-Utah film Forrest Gump, “Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.”
“You will all be coming home with a box of chocolates made in Utah. The only difference is you’ll know exactly what you’ll be getting. It’s all very well laid out. ” shared Fyne.
More details about Utah travel is at VisitUtah.com.
