Fall is here and Park City is full of amazing color. This week we look at the new SLC airport terminal, Utah's economy, and the end of walk up ticket sales at some of the local ski resorts.
Utah's economy is ranked the best in the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to 24/7 Wall Street, a website that analyzes and reports on economic data according to Fox13 - Salt Lake City.
Fox13 reports that Utah's low unemployment rate when compared to the rest of the country as one of the reasons the state is in the first position. While the rest of the country has seen unemployment rates reach double digits, Utah had the lowest unemployment rate in the country for the month of July, and currently, 4.5 percent of workers filed for unemployment.The site also stated that Utah's economic growth is one of the strongest in any state in the country, even before the pandemic hit. Utah also has a low poverty rate, being one of only seven states with less than 10-percent of the population below the poverty line.
Salt Lake City International Airport is undergoing a $4.1 billion renovation project, according to USA Today. Concourse A is part of the first phase of the renovation project, while the second concourse is set to open in October, and the rest of the rest of the new airport is scheduled to be completed by 2024, added the report. The US carrier says the airport’s new Salt Lake City Airport includes convenient amenities designed to enhance the overall travel experience. Last week, Delta flew its first flight out of the new Salt Lake City International Airport, which underwent a billion-dollar renovation recently, on Tuesday. The debut flight departed for Atlanta from the airport’s new 900,000-square-foot Concourse A.“This day has been years in the making,” said Bill Wyatt, executive director of Salt Lake City Department of Airports. “To say we are excited to be here today is an understatement. After six years of construction and many more years of planning, we are proud to open the first new US hub airport in the 21st century.” Read more about the new Salt Lake City airport on Business Traveler's site.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Solitude Mountain Resort and Deer Valley Resort have become the latest Utah ski areas to take walk-up tickets off their menus. Both resorts are owned by the Alterra Mountain Co., which on Monday revealed some of the COVID-19 precautions it would implement across its 15 destinations throughout the United States and Canada. In addition to ending walk-up tickets, Alterra will put caps on daily lift tickets — sold online — and prioritize season-pass holders. Resorts are also creating more grab-and-go food options and more outdoor seating to encourage social distancing and will be limiting interactions on lifts and gondolas.
Deer Valley has long capped the number of skiers it allows daily. Solitude, on the other hand, has been seeing a noticeable influx of visitors since joining the Alterra family prior to the 2018-19 season. Solitude will not turn away season-pass holders but will limit sales of online, single-day lift tickets if large crowds are anticipated. The protocols apply only to resorts owned by Alterra and not those on its Ikon Pass, one of the two major multi-resort season passes on the market. Brighton, Snowbird and Alta — all of which allow limited days to Ikon Pass holders — are in the process of creating their own COVID-19 regulations.
Vail Resorts announced similar changes two weeks ago, including at Utah’s Park City Mountain Resort. In addition to ending walk-up lift tickets and prioritizing season pass holders, Vail will limit chairlifts to riders who are within the same ski party or to small groups of individuals. Perhaps most ground shaking is its plan to limit capacity by requiring all visitors, even season pass holders, to use an online reservation system to hold their spot on the mountain.
Solitude is slated to open the season Nov. 20, Alta plans to follow Nov. 21 and Deer Valley is scheduled for Dec. 5. Snowbird and Brighton have not announced their opening days.
