Montana Tourism & Recreation Strategic Plan 2003-2007 is Now Online for a Public Comment Period; Focuses on Stronger Linkages between Tourism & Other Economic Development Efforts

For the past 11 months, we have been working with the Montana Dept. of Commerce, six tourism regions, CVB’s, state/federal agencies, universities, and representatives from tourism industry, economic & community development, arts/cultural groups, agriculture/ranching, sportsmen’s organizations and conservation groups to develop Montana’s Tourism & Recreation Strategic Plan for 2003-2007. The results of this effort are now available online at http://www.travelmontana.state.mt.us/newsandupdates/strategic.htm.

Tourism is Montana’s second largest industry (nonresident visitors spent $1.7 billion in 2001). Throughout the planning process, we sought to develop strategies that compliment other statewide and local economic development efforts through sustainable tourism that is consistent with the values of Montanans. Examples of some key issues that are discussed in the Plan:

* Linkages to value-added agriculture

* : in 2001, nonresident visitors ate more than 110,000,000 meals in Montana (2.1 million meals/week – that’s a lot of beef!), and spent $332 million on restaurant meals & beverages, $125+ million on groceries and snacks. With 9.6 million nonresident visitors (10 times the population of the state), there are opportunities to better link Montana’s ag producers with restaurants and other tourism providers, particularly for branded products Role of tourism in Montana’s transportation system

* : nonresident visitors comprise about half of all commercial air passenger enplanements in Montana – without tourism, Montana’s air service would drop significantly – a critical issue for business recruitment and economic development efforts Tourism growth rate has slowed

* : while the year-round number of visitors has grown over the past decade, numbers and spending of summer nonresident visitors dropped (spending declined by $28.5 million) from 1996 to 2001. Many of Montana’s major attractions experienced declining visitor numbers from 1996 to 2001 (Glacier Park was down by 500,000+ visitors). Travelers’ length of stay and travel party size both declined from 1996-2001 (consistent with national trends). Seasonality creates instability in many sectors

* : while Montana’s hotels average 75%+ occupancy in peak season (July-Sept), occupancies drop well below 60% (as low as 40%) in off-peak times, which is below break-even point. The seasonality affects jobs, housing, retailing, wholesale/distribution and other sectors. Businesses (including airlines) charge more in peak season to make up the difference. Return on Investment can be enhanced

* : Montana is seeing larger proportions of "low revenue" visitors (pass-through’s, visiting friends/relatives, day-trippers from neighboring states/provinces), and smaller proportions of "high revenue" visitors (destination vacationers, business travelers/conventions). Market segments that spend the most money are heritage/cultural visitors (happily, the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial is a big attraction for this segment), meetings/conventions, guided adventurers, geo-tourists and matures (Americans over age 50 comprise 80% of all leisure travel, and control 75% of the nation’s wealth). Highly targeted, strategic promotion is needed to maintain competitiveness

* : Montana is being outspent on promotions as much as 10-to-1 by other states, and has a competitive disadvantage due to its distance from major metro markets on both coasts. Packaging is needed to make Montana easier to "buy". Tourism must be sustainable, and consistent with the values of Montanans

* : hunting, fishing, access (to public/private lands & waters) and infrastructure are key issues to address. While both resident and nonresident hunter numbers have been flat or declining, numbers of fishermen are growing, as are concerns/conflicts about impacts on Montanans’ quality of life. Better methods to measure visitation/impacts, along with allocation of use in some areas, are needed to ensure sustainability of assets and quality of life for Montanans, including the economic benefits of tourism. Partnerships are critical to tourism & recreation success
: MEDA and many of its members are mentioned in the Plan as potential partners on some of the 22 objectives and 94 actions detailed in the Plan. In some other states, regional tourism organizations are co-located with regional economic development districts, sharing office space and staff, and leveraging funding resources.

The Strategic Plan is organized as follows:

* Executive Summary

* (6-8 pgs, designed as a stand-alone piece) Chapter 1: Introduction

* (project purpose, process, public input, etc.) Chapter 2: Existing Conditions

* (statewide socio-economic trends, tourism & recreation trends, supply & demand issues, tourism challenges & threats) – ATTACHED Chapter 3: Markets

* (resident, nonresident, national tourism trends, top priority target markets) Chapter 4: Strategic Framework

* (vision, guiding principles, strategic approach, goals) Chapter 5: Objectives and Actions

* (priority actions, describing what, why, where, how, when and who) Chapter 6: Implementation

* (steps to implement actions, timeline, partner responsibilities) Appendices

: Funding & Technical Resources, Key to Acronyms, Lodging Tax Annotated Code, List of Reference Materials, Online Survey Final Report

The Resources Appendix lists 14 pages of federal, state, nonprofit/local and private resources for funding and technical assistance related to tourism, recreation, economic & community development, arts/cultural programs, historic preservation, conservation, transportation, downtown revitalization, etc.

We hope that you will take time to review the document and provide to us your insights, suggestions, criticisms and other pearls of wisdom. Thanks to those of you who have participated in the process (look for your fingerprints in the document!). We look forward to hearing from you (there is a comment form on the web site, or you can reply directly to me).

Best regards,
Lorraine

Lorraine H. Roach, CMSM
Principal
The Hingston Roach Group, Inc.
Strategic Solutions for Community and Business Development

416 W. Main Street, Suite 2
PO Box 400
Grangeville, Idaho 83530
Tel: 208.983.2175
Fax: 208.983.9188
Email: [email protected]