Salt Lake City (December 2020) — The travel industry has been one of the hardest hit sectors of the economy due to COVID-19 and, with it, Salt Lake’s visitor economy. Visit Salt Lake (VSL), in partnership with a CARES Act Grant secured through Salt Lake County, entered into an agreement with the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) and its GBAC STAR™ Facility Accreditation Program to assist two dozen Salt Lake businesses achieve this critical accreditation. The GBAC STAR™ Facility Accreditation Program is a performance-based program that establishes infectious disease prevention work practices to control risks associated with diseases like COVID-19 and is considered the number one safety and sanitization program by meeting planners globally.

Reports have shown the loss of meetings, conventions, events and leisure travel due to COVID-19 is well over half a billion dollars to Salt Lake alone. In an ongoing effort to ensure the long-term viability and success of Salt Lake’s hospitality industry and its visitor economy, VSL has proactively initiated a number of programs to its traditional role of marketing and selling travel to Utah’s capital city, including sponsorship of the GBAC STAR™ accreditation. Through the program, VSL sponsored 24 Salt Lake hotels, venues and attractions with their accreditation in an effort to establish traveler confidence and to make Salt Lake County one of the nation’s safest place in the nation to visit and conduct business.

“We were thrilled to help a number of Salt Lake businesses achieve this important accreditation to help ensure our meeting, convention, event groups and leisure travelers feel confident in their safety when they decide to visit our community,” said Kaitlin Eskelson, VSL president & CEO. “Support of our members is job number one right now, and we’re doing everything possible to make sure they have the resources necessary to do their part in the recovery of our community.”

Visit Salt Lake is a private, non-profit corporation responsible for the promotion of Salt Lake as a vibrant, modern destination brimming with unexpected dining, lodging, nightlife and entertainment options, a destination well suited for convention and leisure travel alike. In partnership with Salt Lake County, Visit Salt Lake’s mission is to improve the area economy by attracting and providing support to conventions, leisure travelers and visitors while being a leader in environmental responsibility. For more information on all that Salt Lake has to offer, go to VisitSaltLake.com.