Global push to tout the ‘Utah brand’

The Olympics brought the world to Utah in 2002. Utah plans to repay the gesture by visiting the world in 2003.

By Dave Anderton
Deseret News business writer

Building on what Gov. Mike Leavitt calls the "Utah brand," state officials and business leaders will crisscross the planet this year, laying out an ambitious schedule to plug Utah products.

In addition to visits to a number of U.S. and Canadian cities, a slew of trips over the next eight months are charted for Greece, Italy, Belgium, Japan, Singapore and China.

On Friday, state officials joined with more than 200 Utah businesses and 25 foreign delegates to sell the plan. Because of the strong response, the international business summit, originally planned for the Governor’s Mansion, had to be moved to the 23rd floor of the Wells Fargo Center.

"The interest has actually surprised me. It’s been overwhelming," said Tina Lewis, executive director of the state’s International Business Development Office.

Leavitt, who returned Wednesday from a trade mission to Mexico City, made a brief appearance, telling those in attendance that the future lies in international trade.

"We intend to go throughout the world and to build on what is now the new Utah brand. Political boundaries play a far less relevant role in the world than they used to," Leavitt said. "The 17 days that we now celebrate as the first anniversary (of the Olympics) was not a landing — it was a launch."

Sam Parker, founder of Parker International, a Salt Lake-based exporter of meats, said he plans to attend the Asia trade mission in April to build the company’s business leads.

"We’re anxious to increase our footprint in the area," Parker said. "The impressive thing is the governor has been smart enough to take advantage of the name brand of Utah and bring attention to the state."

This week’s visit to Mexico by Leavitt was the second of 11 trade missions. In October, the governor visited Moscow and The Hague.

Yet, growing clouds of a U.S. war against Iraq combined with North Korea’s start-up of a nuclear weapons program may prove too much of a distraction for business deals.

"Obviously, we are monitoring the situation very closely," said Chris Bowler, director over the United Kingdom, Mediterranean and Middle East for the International Business Development Office.

Bowler said his office doesn’t have any grave concerns over how the war may affect the European or Asian continents.
"We feel very comfortable, especially given the input we’ve had from the State Department, that it will be a very contained war," Bowler said. "We hope that people aren’t too afraid to come on the trip."

Yet Lewis acknowledges that some companies interested in upcoming missions have already expressed concern, asking whether they can obtain a refund should they change their mind.
Next month’s trade mission to Greece should be safe, according to Elias Thanasas, Greece’s consul over economic and commercial affairs.

"I think the safety issues belong to the past," Thanasas said, adding that 21 leaders from the "November 17" terrorist group were arrested last summer. "They’re practically inactive at this moment."

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,455030419,00.html?