The International Inbound Travel Association Board of Directors selected Salt Lake City to host its 2025 Summit, February 9-12. Salt Lake City was one of seven destinations bidding on the Summit.
The Salt Lake City Convention and Visitors Bureau, an active member of IITA, and the Hilton Salt Lake City Center submitted the winning bid. Also an active IITA member, the Utah Office of Tourism has pledged its support of the event. Bids are evaluated based on a number of variables, including level of city/state support, destination location and appeal, meeting space and hotel rates.
The IITA Summit brings hundreds of travel organizations together to do business and put together USA itineraries and travel services for international travelers visiting the U.S. from around the world.
“Salt Lake City is an attractive destination for international visitors, particularly outdoor enthusiasts, and Utah is one of the most beautiful places in the country with all of the national parks,” said Lisa Simon, CEO/Executive Director, IITA. “We are thrilled to bring our group to Salt Lake in 2025 for our members – the leading U.S. inbound operators – to experience all the city and state have to offer.”
While international visitation to the USA continues to recover from the pandemic, historically it has generated more than $235 billion in travel spending from nearly 80 million visitors. International inbound travel is crucial for the U.S. economy, and a sizable portion of that economic impact is a direct result of inbound tour operators selling U.S. travel products and services to a vast network of international tour operators and other travel producers.
“Visit Salt Lake is honored to host IITA in 2025 and showcase Salt Lake and Utah to tour operators specializing in international markets as well as to our industry guests,” said Visit Salt Lake President & CEO Kaitlin Eskelson. “Over the past year, our destination has experienced a vibrant surge of activity, with a notable influx of new hotels and restaurants. In collaboration with the Utah Office of Tourism, we can’t wait to extend our warmest hospitality.”
In addition to its annual Summit, IITA delivers education and training designed to help the industry grow international travel. The Utah Office of Tourism and Visit Salt Lake brought the training program – IITA’s Inbound Insider Steps to Success – to Salt Lake City to help prepare the city for the return of international travelers.
“There has been so much turnover in travel and tourism since the pandemic, and our friends in Utah have demonstrated their commitment to rebuilding international visitation and will have the advantage of preparedness as a result of training,” Simon said. “Now they’re bringing it full circle by bringing the travel producers to experience the destination first-hand.”
The International Inbound Travel Association is the trade association of the United States’ inbound travel industry. Its members are the leading U.S.-based inbound operators, which are companies providing B2B travel services to international tour operators and travel buyers around the world. Other members include U.S. destinations and suppliers that work in partnership with the international inbound travel trade.
For more information on the International Inbound Travel Association, membership, new programs or services, please visit inboundtravel.org or email headquarters@inboundtravel.org.
Visit Salt Lake is a private, non-profit corporation responsible for the promotion of Salt Lake as a convention, meetings, sports events and travel destination. In partnership with Salt Lake County, Visit Salt Lake improves the area economy by attracting and providing support to conventions, sports events, leisure travelers and visitors with a strong commitment to sustainability and stewardship of the area’s natural environment. Through its sales and marketing programs, Visit Salt Lake’s impact on Salt Lake’s annual $4.5 billion visitor economy equates to $1,238 in tax relief for each household within Salt Lake County. For more information on all that Salt Lake has to offer, go to visitsaltlake.com.
