Western Montana InBusiness March 2008 – This time of year, people want a change of scenery

Winter in western Montana creates a bit of cabin fever here in the newsroom.

Sure, we’re out and about every day, reporting on everything from Missoula City Council meetings to gelande jumping at Snowbowl. But there’s just something about those snowy, socked-in, it’s-still-winter days that makes us all a bit antsy.

By SHERRY DEVLIN

And that’s exactly what prompted this month’s coverage in Western Montana InBusiness: dreams of sunnier climes, exotic destinations, summer road trips with family and friends, bluebird days.

So we’ve assembled a series of stories on "all things travel."

Reporters Pam Podger, Lori Grannis and Michael Moore lead off our report with a look at airline travel: the impact of the Internet on travel agencies, the best travel bargains for vacationers flying out of Missoula, and the myths – and realities – of spring break travel.

There’s no denying the Internet and its deluge of travel sites has had an impact on western Montana’s traditional travel agencies. "I wish the Internet would go away," Global Travel owner Dian Schmidt told our reporter.

Nationwide, the number of retail travel agencies has plummeted from 33,500 in 1997 to 18,261 in 2007.

What’s fascinating is the anti-Web backlash that’s now sending consumers back to travel agents – and the way a number of our own travel agencies have reinvented themselves to regain a competitive edge.

Kim Lewis, an agent at Davidson Travel Consultants in Missoula, said travelers are frustrated when they need to make a change in an airline or hotel reservation, call the online booking site and are either put on hold for long periods of time or transferred to an operator in India.

Pretty soon, they’re on the phone with an in-town travel agent, who can change the reservation in about 30 seconds. And the next time they book a trip, they’re considerably more likely to go through that local agency.

Even more important are the niche markets a number of area travel agents have developed, including Schmidt’s Web sites promoting package deals to the National Finals Rodeo and the Professional Bull Riders Rodeo. Now she’s not only booking vacations for Missoulians, but for customers worldwide.

Same came the story from Mike Saxton, a Missoula man who launched BeerTrips.com a decade ago to market specialty tours focused on the world’s great breweries: in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain and France. This summer, he’s putting together a trip highlighting both Montana’s microbreweries and its vaunted landscapes.

Everyone’s not hopping an airplane to some exotic locale, though. In fact, Michael Jamison found a veritable renaissance in rail travel. And nowhere is that more true than in Montana, where the northern Empire Builder is the nation’s most popular overnight passenger train – and where advocates are pushing for reinstatement of a southern route through Missoula and Billings.

And despite ever-rising gas prices – reporter Vince Devlin has a report on that – Montanans are still taking to the road and driving long distances, for work and pleasure. I think you’ll enjoy reporter Lori Grannis’ conversation with Missoula car dealers, who were asked to pick the best "road trip car" on their lot.

Grannis also has a package of stories on traveling with – and without – pets, which she calls "fur children." Hotels, and airlines are doing more every year to accommodate pets. The Kimpton Hotels chain even provides doggie amenities like food bowls and beds.

And if you need to leave Fido or Kitty at home, you can do so knowing they’ll have luxury accommodations. Gone – or at least, going – are the days when boarding a pet meant long hours of confinement in kennels. Nowadays, pets are likely to have more on their schedule at the "kennel" than they usually do at home: field trips, afternoon snacks, reading time, play time, you name it.

It’s a dog’s life. We wish!

Full Edition of InBusiness: http://www.mtinbusiness.com/inbiz-0803/

Reach editor Sherry Devlin at (406) 523-5250 or by e-mail at [email protected].

SHERRY DEVLIN Is editor of the Missoulian and Western Montana InBusiness Monthly.