(A map of downtown Moab is pictured in Moab on Saturday, April 18, 2020. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
MOAB, Utah — Spring break has arrived for students all over Utah, and popular spots in southern Utah are likely going to be extremely busy. Officials in Moab say it could be the busiest spring break they’ve ever had.
Business analysts in Moab say they aren’t just relying on a good spring break for visitations and revenue, they’re on pace to have a record year.
Moab Chamber of Commerce President Lonnie Campbell says, “Everyone has gone into the full swing, basically.”
Why so busy? The warmer weather always draws out bigger crowds, but Campbell believes more and more people just don’t want to stay indoors, any more. He says UTV tours, Jeep tours and river trips are booked solid, even though the river is especially cold this time of year.
“This is all just word of mouth, as far as talking to a lot of different businesses, hotels, tour companies and different things, but they’ve gotten a lot more bookings, earlier, than ever before,” he says.
Campbell says business in Moab have been making sure visitors wear masks and stay distant as best as possible ever since the pandemic started, and they’re encouraged many people are planning to stay outdoors during the break. Still, he says traffic could get jammed from time to time, and some businesses are expected to be so busy they need to find more workers.
“We still have a pretty big staffing issue, here,” according to Campbell.
There are some concerns for the Moab Chamber of Commerce, though. Campbell says they’re worried about a lack of foreign visitors over the summer. However, he says bookings and visits have been higher than normal for months.
He says, “Our winter months, this year, never fully died off. Usually, Moab just shuts down during the winter. This last winter, we had people here and tourists here pretty much the whole time.”