Games favorable for visitors
With the Olympics ending, athletes and spectators alike are packing their bags and heading out of town.
But for the two weeks of the Olympic Games, Salt Lake City was one of the hottest vacation destinations in the world.
Kirsten Pack, a senior majoring in marketing, worked in the Olympic Village and a downtown olympic store throughout the games giving her an opportunity to interact with many of the guests in Salt Lake City.
“Although I met a lot of people from here in Utah while I was working at the Olympic store, the majority of the visitors there were from other parts of the United States and world,” Pack said.
Salt Lake fared quite well with such a sudden influx of tourists and spectators said Sue Gander, a visitor from Washington. Despite additional flight security, Gander said she was able to enter the Salt Lake Valley with ease.
“The security restrictions at the airport were adequate enough in helping me to feel safe, yet they were not overly obtrusive in any way,” she said.
Park and ride shuttle buses also helped ease transportation worries in downtown Salt Lake City. People were allowed to park for free at designated lots located outside of the city. They were then bused within blocks of the Olympic Square and its festivities.
“While driving to work, [I found] downtown traffic was lighter during the weeks of the Olympics than it normally is,” Pack said.
Non-Utah residents were very friendly and acted favorably during the games, Pack said. They oftentimes wanted to trade pins, or were anxious to outright give pins as a symbol of goodwill, she said. Many of the visitors to the Olympic store spoke about how great they thought Utah was, and in particular how nice the residents here are, Pack said.
Some residents of Utah who originally were not in favor of the Olympics being held in Salt Lake City still went out and celebrated.
“I was not originally for it. I would have voted against it if I had the chance. But now I think that it is fantastic, because – well it is here. It’s here,” said Anita Gander, a Salt Lake resident.
Worries and fears of the possible ill side effects of the Olympics seem to have, in part, dissipated with the excitement of the Games, and a more favorable view has been adopted by some.
“I think having the Olympics in Salt Lake City is great. It’s good for Utah and will really help to dispose some preconceived notions others have of the city and the people who live here,” said Clay Merrill of Shreveport, La. Merrill, a member of the BYU Folk Dance Ensemble which performed throughout the Games, said the Games were a great experience.