Glacier Country Destination Stewardship Plan

In September, Glacier Country Tourism kicked off a year-long destination stewardship planning process needed to balance visitor growth with the long-term health and vibrancy of Montana’s communities, natural resources and quality of life for our residents. What makes destination stewardship different from marketing and management is the process by which we do what we do. It’s a shift from promoting communities to engaging and stewarding communities, which in turn provides more livable and sustainable destinations.

In the midst of this global pandemic when destinations across the globe are seeing significant drops in visitation levels, Glacier Country continues to see record-breaking numbers of visitors. This surge in visitation is putting pressure on natural resources and infrastructure, amplifying issues related to workforce, and leading to negative resident sentiment toward tourism. Jim McCaul (MMGY NextFactor) and Cathy Ritter (Better Destinations) will be guiding and facilitating this process. MMGY NextFactor is an industry-leading consulting firm that specializes in helping DMOs deliver sustainable growth to visitor economies and build stronger communities. Better Destinations is a consulting practice that focuses on how to maximize the benefits of tourism while addressing impacts to achieve overall positive outcomes, including stakeholder support.

GCT has created a steering committee to guide the development of this plan and act as champions throughout the implementation process. Members of our committee are Dylan Boyle (Explore Whitefish), Shannon Brilz (University of Montana Conference and Event Services), Ray Brown (Sanders County Community Development Corporation), Loren Flynn (Montana State Parks Region 2 Parks Manager), Amber Pacheco-Holm (Libby Area Chamber of Commerce and Montana Sky), Carol Johnson (Superior Ranger District), Matt Lautzenheiser (Historical Museum at Fort Missoula and Museums Association of Montana), Victoria Lee (Glacier Distilling + Josephine’s Speakeasy), Aubrie Lorona (Swan Mountain Outfitters), Riley Polumbus (Logan Health and previously Whitefish Mountain Resort), Rep. Katie Sullivan (Montana House of Representatives), Pete Webster, Jeff Mow or Gina Kerzman (Glacier National Park) and Seth Wilson (Blackfoot Challenge).

November kicks off in-person and virtual town hall meetings for each county; please attend the meeting for your county so we can discuss sustainability specific to you. Two major surveys (residents and stakeholders) will also be distributed in November. Then in January we will conduct focus groups and one-on-one interviews. Town hall and virtual meeting dates, research, reports and project updates can be found at glaciermt.com/stewardship.

DESTINATION STEWARDSHIP IN-PERSON COUNTY TOWN HALL MEETINGS
NOV. 1:   NOV. 3:  
9 – 11 a.m. Ravalli County, Bitterroot River Inn, Hamilton 9 – 11 a.m. Sanders County, The Paradise Center, Paradise
3 – 5 p.m. Missoula County, Seeley Lake Community Hall, Seeley Lake 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. Lincoln County, The Memorial Center, Libby
NOV. 2:   NOV. 4:  
9 – 11 a.m. Lake County, Mission Mountain
Golf Club, Ronan		 9 – 11 a.m. Flathead County, Cedar Creek Lodge, Columbia Falls
3 – 5 p.m. Mineral County, St. Regis Community Center, St. Regis NOV. 5:
9 – 11 a.m.
Glacier County, Glacier County Library, Cut Bank

Mark Your Calendar
Board Meetings


DEC

14

December 14, 2021
noon – 3 p.m.
Virtual

MAR

8

March 8, 2022
noon – 3 p.m.
Virtual

MAY

10

May 10, 2022
noon – 3 p.m.
In person or hybrid, TBD

Our board meetings are open to the
public, and we welcome attendance.
Meetings in the warmer months, May
and October, will be in person or hybrid,
and meetings in the winter, December
and March, will be virtual. Board
meeting information will be posted
on the Partner Center and Glacier
Country Regional Tourism Commission
Facebook page. 

To learn more, please call the Glacier Country Tourism office at 800.956.6537 or 406.532.3234, or drop us a note at glaciercountry@glaciermt.com.

MILESTONES
July Through August 2021

Tablet-Friendly Guide Visits

14,882

Call Center Inquiries
(phone, email, live chat and travel guide distribution)

35,565

Website Visits

308,718

Social Media Impressions

4,410,871

Paid Media Impressions

10,731,313

Earned Media Ad Value

$762,889

 

Need travel guides? Call Kristi McNeal, Glacier Country Tourism's director of operations and accounting, at 406.532.3234.

Public Relations and
Tourism Sales Update

Working with the Idaho Department of Tourism, Debbie Picard, our director of sales, designed two itineraries showcasing attractions and adventure through Western Montana and Idaho. The itineraries—Boise, Idaho, to Glacier National Park and Northwest Montana – Northern Idaho Loop Tour—focused on some of the most wide-open and scenic spaces in the U.S., exactly what the clients of tour operators were asking to see this year and into the next. View the itineraries at touroperators.glaciermt.com. Motorcoach tours were back this year and the busy summer months were full of helping domestic tour operators navigate the region during a pandemic. Tour operators needed help figuring out a general sense of the region for their clients, as well as what was open and what mandates were in place.

While the past 18 months has been fairly quiet for meetings and convention business, requests for proposals were up and September was pacing to be near 2019 numbers and the fall months are looking really strong currently. News from the White House that border restrictions will ease on international travel for vaccinated individuals in November has rejuvenated the international travel market.

Looking ahead, this winter Debbie plans to attend NTA’s Travel Exchange and ABA’s Marketplace and work with the group tour/motorcoach market to navigate future tours and how the industry is changing. Remember that after each trade show leads are available on the Glacier Country Partner Center for follow-up by our partners. If you would like to promote your business specifically to the meetings and group tour markets via our B2B Blog, b2b.glaciermt.com, let us know at debbie@glaciermt.com.

Glacier Country’s Director of Communications, Lucy Guthrie, has been busy promoting Recreate Responsibly and Leave No Trace messages this quarter with the bloggers and influencers Sherry Ott, HoneyTrek and Vagabond3. Sherry came in July and her travels can be viewed on both Facebook and Instagram @OttsWorld. Her trip included a rodeo in Libby, a lavender farm in Lakeside and a hot springs in Plains, all while recreating responsibly. HoneyTrek came in early September, and their travels took them from biking the Route of the Hiawatha trail and attending the Ravalli County Fair to paddleboarding the Clearwater Canoe Trail and attending the Kootenai Chainsaw Carving Competition. Their guest blog on boondocking responsibly in Western Montana will be coming out in the spring, but, in the meantime, their stories can be viewed on Instagram @HoneyTrek. And finally, Vagabond3 came out at the end of September, and their story includes a stay at The Shire of Montana Hobbit House in Trout Creek, and our first venture with the platform TikTok. Their adventures can be viewed on Instagram @Vagabond3.

Partners interested in hosting media or showcasing their business can reach out to Lucy at lucy@glaciermt.com for potential inclusion in a FAM or media trip.

Glacier Country Tourism Promotes Recreate Responsibly

July, August and September of 2021 kept the Glacier Country Tourism (GCT) team on our toes with lots of challenges and opportunities, including helping visitors understand Glacier National Park’s ticketed entry system and promoting recreating responsibly to visitors and residents, including know before you go, plan ahead and make reservations in advance.

GCT expanded our partnerships to strengthen us as a destination management organization. Zartico’s Destination Operating System takes intelligence, analytics and data visualizations and combines them with context and strategic input to support data-driven decisions in real-time; the University of Montana completed GCT’s Customer Experience training program “Train the Trainer” and a new partnership with TreadLightly! promotes responsible motorized recreation.

Register NOW for GCT’s FREE fall summit November 9 + 10. Find featured speakers, session topics, and register at glaciermt.com/summit.

Visit our Partner Center at partners.glaciermt.com.

partners.glaciermt.com

Disclaimer
© 2021 Glacier Country Regional Tourism Commission. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of any material must be with the consent of the Glacier Country Regional Tourism Commission. Produced with Accommodations Tax Funds.

Glacier Country Tourism is operated by a board of directors (made up of two members from each county in Glacier Country: Flathead, Glacier, Lake, Lincoln, Mineral, Missoula, Ravalli and Sanders, up to eight at-large representatives and up to six ex-officio) and the executive director. The board operates under strict rules and regulations set by the governor-appointed Tourism Advisory Council (TAC) and the Montana legislature. The Glacier Country Tourism marketing plan and projects are approved by the board and then submitted to the TAC for final approval.

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