Grand County Names Michael Soleta New Moab Office of Tourism Director

Grand County named Michael Soleta the new director of the Moab Office of Tourism, filling a position that had been vacant since June. Soleta, who has worked as the office's assistant marketing director since July 2024, assumes the leadership role March 30.

In the position, he will oversee the county's destination marketing, branding and visitor-information efforts, responsible for promoting travel to the area, coordinating advertising and public relations campaigns, and working with tourism-related businesses and organizations on marketing initiatives. The Moab Tourism Advisory Board, a volunteer panel that recommends how Grand County allocates tourism-related tax revenues, submitted a letter supporting Soleta's selection.

The appointment followed a 16-week national recruitment process conducted with Horizon Hospitality Associates, a firm specializing in tourism industry hiring. Personnel Services Director Tess Barger said the search cost nearly $30,000 and included review of 18 vetted applications, multiple interview rounds, three finalist site visits, and open-house meetings for county staff and officials. County Administrator Mark Tyner cut straight to what the process revealed: "Our commitment to finding the top candidate for this position is why we engaged a national search firm. What the process confirmed is that we already had that person."

The director seat had been empty since former director Ben Fredregill left in early June after negotiating a separation agreement. He received a cash payout and remains eligible for rehire.

With a comprehensive marketing rebrand expected later this year, Soleta's immediate focus will be on the execution of a strategy already well underway, with the county's goal to see Moab recognized as one of the most competitive tourist destinations in the world by marketing itself with intention and attracting visitors aligned with its culture and values. Soleta framed the opportunity plainly: "Tourism has been happening to Moab, and we have an opportunity to be more intentional about how we influence it."

The stakes are real. The Grand County Commission had aimed for a 6% increase in tourism this year but is instead seeing a 4% decrease based on sales tax and transient room tax revenue, a 10-point gap that some in the community have characterized as an economic crisis. Against that backdrop, the hire comes during a broader transition within the Moab Office of Tourism, which over the past year has moved to new contracted marketing agency partnerships, launched a new website, and continued implementing a long-term branding initiative aimed at shaping seasonal travel patterns. The Moab Office of Tourism will spend nearly $3.6 million across three separate agencies to help advertise and rebrand the area, with costs funded through transient room tax revenue.

Soleta supports a strategic, data-driven approach to tourism promotion focused on using marketing tools and performance data to help guide when visitors travel to Moab and to strengthen the destination's ability to respond to changes in national and global travel trends. The Moab Office of Tourism currently has a staff of three, including Assistant Marketing Director Alison Harford and Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission Director Bega Metzner.

On the governance side, the Grand County Commission also recently expanded the Moab Tourism Advisory Board from seven to nine members following a 2025 state law change that made Moab City a voting member, appointing hotelier Alicia Baty to the new ninth seat in a unanimous 7-0 vote. The commission approved the first round of its Special Events Marketing Grant program, a 1:1 cash-match reimbursement for event marketing costs targeting out-of-county visitors, with a second application round opening May 1.

The Moab Office of Tourism is funded entirely by promotional transient room tax revenue, and Grand County is projected to bring in roughly $8 million in TRT revenue in 2026. Soleta steps into the director role at a moment when how that money gets spent, and how clearly it moves the needle on visitation, will define Moab's tourism trajectory for years ahead.