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Dear Editor:
We know the best hiking trails.
We know the best biking trails.
We know the best stretches of river.
We know the best everything about Moab.
And we are certainly not going to share our favorites with 3 million visitors.
A tourist family on Main Street turned to me while I was walking my dog, asked me if I was local,
then asked me where the best place to swim was. Let’s see … do I tell them to go up Mill Creek
or Ken’s Lake or my favorite beach along the river? Maybe the aquatic center pool?
If you want to protect the natural environment then leave out slogans that encourage visitors to
ask us where they should go. How about “Pick up your toilet paper.”
Emphasize how to be like a local; pack it in, pack it out; leave no trace. What is it we should
“be smart” about? Encourage them to ask “What is a good steward?” I did not see anything on
the “Do it like a local” page on Grand County’s website that described what a good steward is.
I think a marketing strategy that encourages millions of tourists to ask locals where the best
places are has tremendous power to backfire.
Kaki Hunter
Moab
