Tens of thousands of travelers will visit Salt Lake City this weekend to attend the LDS General Conference. There are certainly social implications, but what about the economic ones? Nobody has a reliable estimate, but it’s clearly a boon for Salt Lake City hotels and downtown restaurants that are packed during conference weekend. James Wood, director of BEBR, had some insight in a recent ABC News Story.
“If you assume about half the attendees are from out of state, direct spending tied to the conference weekend could be as high as $20 million,” said Wood. “Conference attendees probably don’t spend as much as convention visitors because many stay with family or friends.”