Utah won’t say how it’s trying to tempt Amazon — but outdoor recreation, multilingual Mormons are likely key
(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File) Miracle Stewart, right, an employee of Amazon PrimeNow, prepares bags to fill with orders from customers making purchases, at a distribution hub in New York.
Utah officials working to lure Amazon to the Salt Lake City area are keeping details of their bid under wraps but economic development officials say recreation opportunities play a big part in their pitch to any company considering a move to the state.
Val Hale, executive director of the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development, says it's an amazing benefit that you can live in downtown Salt Lake City and ski at a resort that hosted the Olympics in 30 minutes.
Hale says Salt Lake City also touts that it Utah has five national parks within a four hour drive and mountain biking and hiking trails in the mountain ranges surrounding the city.
He says Utah also boasts about a multilingual population that speaks more than 120 languages, largely because of the population of returned Mormon missionaries.
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