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Beyond the Horizon:

Getting Started with Astrotourism

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Utah Dark Sky & Astrotourism Toolkit

Emma Epperson M.S. | Dr. Jordan Smith | Lisa Stoner M.S.

Tourism Business Development Workshop

Institution of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism | Utah State University

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Effective Marketing Strategies

Business Planning

Best Practices & Guidelines

Astrotourism Basics

Case Studies

Utah-Specific Licensing

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Effective Marketing Strategies

Business Planning

Best Practices & Guidelines

Astrotourism Basics

Case Studies

Utah-Specific Licensing

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Astrotourism Basics

An Introduction to Utah’s Celestial Secrets

    • Astrotourism in Utah
    • Dark sky opportunities
    • How to view?
    • Utah’s designated places

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Pro-tips for Dark Sky Business & Stewardship

Guiding You Through the Night

    • Connecting with potential market
    • Expanding your business
    • Keeping the dark skies dark
    • Communicating the value of dark skies for nature
    • Tapping in to astrotourism

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Thank You

emma.epperson@usu.edu | jordan.smith@usu.edu | lisa.stoner@usu.edu

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Utah’s Galactic Goldmine

1/28/25 1

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*Dark Sky Association. DarkSky.Org. Excluded Dark Sky Lodging. For which numbers were

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Utah: 27 dark sky accredited places.

25* places had 50,000 people attend dark sky related events in 2024

*Dark Sky Association. DarkSky.Org. For which numbers were available

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www.stargazingzion.com Matthias Schmitt

804-502-4580

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From Bicknell, UT

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Ashcroft Observatory

  • Ashcroft map, image of the place
  • Google map “observatory”
  • story about how tourists find us

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Light Pollution in Reno vs. GBNP

Reno

GBNP

Favian Paniagua Soto & Michael Morehead

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Light pollution in Utah

2006

2016

2022

  • Because of light pollution, 80% of Americans can’t see the Milky Way.

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  • “We’ve got whole generations of people in the United States who have never seen the Milky Way. It’s a big part of our connection to the cosmos, and it’s been lost.” –Chris Elvidge, NOAA scientist

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  • Torrey, UT
    • Utah's first International Dark Sky Community
  • Just outside Capitol Reef National Park

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2017 Eclipse: Impact on Wyoming

  • 261,000 visitors, three quarters of which were from out of state
  • 576,600 visitor days
  • $63.5 million in travel spending, $59.8 of which was made by out-of-state visitors.
  • Local tax revenue of $3.8 million
  • Most out-of-state visitors stayed overnight, and half of these stayed in a hotel or motel

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2023 Annular Eclipse

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2023 Annular Eclipse

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