Less is More

 

Gridlock in August?  I can hardly believe my eyes.   Kimball Junction is backed up to town, so is 248.  On a Thursday at 330 PM.  They tell me there is an extreme-soccer tournament in town.  Someone must have thought that was a good idea at one time.  I’m sure they are nice people and great kids, but I am here to remind you politely, politically and publicly, it was not.  Make a note of that so you don’t forget the locals again, the collective consciousness that makes this town real.  This is our home, not Disneyland.

We gave up on Christmas, New Years, President’s week, Sundance and the Art Festival years ago and consider them a necessary evil, a sacrifice we make for living in such great town and sharing it with the world.  Remember the Olympic moto – The world is welcome here.  Well not all at once and not all the time.  We have our own quality of life to consider and maintain.

The planners at the City, the County and the powers that be, have done a better job lately at planning only one big event per weekend, one tournament, one Silly Market or one bike race, and that has kept summer activity to a manageable, low roar.  I am thankful that this extreme-soccer tournament was not on Art Festival Weekend along with a stage of the Tour of Utah ripping up Main Street at the same time as the Shot Ski and A Taste of Park City, but do we really need to have these big tournaments here so often.  Remember when we had a motorcycle race in Thayne's Canyon.  That didn't last.  But it seems like we always have at least one event per week.

We talk about sustainable tourism, but what does that look like? Fodor’s has recently rated Lake Tahoe as too crowded to visit.  Too much traffic. Too much car culture.  They want to limit or charge fees for auto access.  Good ideas but are they too late?  They say they have a ‘people problem’ and need ‘tourist management’.  They want to tone down their Chamber of Commerce, Merchants and their marketing efforts.  Locals cannot live their lives.  Do we want to get that kind of rating?  It would be like shooting ourselves in the foot, or killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.  Could we tone down our Chamber and Merchants and marketing?  We understand the desire of some people to fill beds and paid parking spaces, but we do we need to fill all of them, all the time. 

What kind of town do we want to be?  When Deer Valley started in the 80’s they were all about customer service, like Nordstroms and REI, and the customer was always right.  That set the tone for Park City for years to come, we focused on the customer and the product.  We have been recognized as one of the most expensive places to vacation in the US and I therefore conclude that we already aspire to have a more low-key, high-end appeal, inclusive to all but with a relaxed vibe, in a classy backdrop.   Our Brand has already been successfully and honestly established so do we need to advertise and recruit that much?  Let us try a little more moderation in the planning, scheduling and in the exploitation of our largess.  Do we want to be classy or crowded, bucolic or bustling, relaxed or frantic, success or failure.  Do we want to be Nordstroms or Disneyland?  I know it is a delicate line to draw but we must find the balance.  Sometimes, less is more.