Is it time to rethink the ‘Mighty 5’? Tourism leaders by this Utah park think so

File photo of vehicles at Zion National Park’s South Entrance, Utah | Photo courtesy National Park Service, St. George News

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Office of Tourism started the “Mighty 5” campaign in 2013, advertising Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Zion national parks to the world. Visitation soared to unprecedented levels in the years since, though 2021 was a beast of its own. A record-breaking 11.3 million people visited the five parks last year.

Though good for the tourism economy, which is important for many Southern Utah cities and towns, this surge in visitation ultimately led to new ideas to deal with overcrowding, such as Arches’ timed-entry pilot program and a permit lottery system to complete the Angels Landing hike at Zion National Park. It also led to the creation of “Forever Mighty” and the shift to promoting state parks and other recreation areas over national parks to help avoid future overcrowding.

Syrett says, sure, overcrowding became an issue at parts of Zion and Arches, but it really hasn’t been the case everywhere — especially not at Bryce Canyon the past few years.

“If you’re in Garfield County, you think it’s the greatest thing that ever happened,” Syrett said of “Mighty 5,” adding that Garfield County’s economy essentially lives and dies on tourism. “The ‘Mighty 5’ branded all the national parks together and raised the profile of all the national parks. It was extremely successful, (but) the problems in this park and that park, because we’re all together now, it becomes everyone’s problem.”

Read the full story here:  KSL News.

Written by CARTER WILLIAMS, KSL.com.

Copyright KSL.com.

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