Glacier Country Tourism Promotes Winter Wisely
New In-State Campaign Encourages Locals to Explore Montana

Glacier Country Tourism has kicked off our winter campaign, with messaging to recreate responsibly this winter. Our national campaign, Winter Wisely, promotes Western Montana as a year-round vacation destination, while reminding visitors to plan ahead and play it safe. “You can shred the slopes and have a ball in the snowfall, but stick to activities that match your skill level, tread lightly, and be kind and respectful in our communities. Go wisely, recreate responsibly, and leave nothing but tracks in the snow."

New this year is an in-state campaign, encouraging Montanans to explore their own backyard. The campaign, We Live in a State of Awe, acknowledges the economic impact resident visitors contribute to Montana communities. Additionally, residents are often welcomed visitors to our small towns, which appreciate the friendliness and the respect for the community, people and natural resources that in-state travelers have.

In November, Glacier Country Tourism held a free virtual summit, which was a great success and had the highest attendance record to date. Holding the summit in a virtual format allowed us to bring in national industry leaders from Destination Analysts, Tread Lightly! and Tourism Diversity Matters, alongside our local leaders, like Glacier Guides and Montana Raft and AccelerateMT. Keep an eye out for spring 2022 dates at glaciermt.com/summit.

In December, Glacier Country Tourism elected three new board members to its volunteer board. Barbara Liss (Montana Bliss Artworks in Hamilton), Dirk De Coninck (East Shore Smoke House Bar, Restaurant and RV Campground in Polson) and Troy Douthit (Venture Inn, Country Inn and Kootenai Country Montana Foundation in Libby) all started three-year board terms on December 14, 2021.

Glacier Country Destination Stewardship Updates

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.

Glacier Country Tourism is making great progress on the destination stewardship plan. We wrapped up 16 town hall meetings, eight in-person and eight virtual, along with a resident survey and stakeholder assessment. MMGY and Better Destinations are reviewing information from the town halls and surveys. A summary will soon be available to view on the Updates and Resources page of the Partner Center Destination Stewardship site.

The project is on track, and the next phase includes meeting with key people one-on-one and holding industry specific focus groups. MMGY and Better Destinations will then present stakeholder findings and prepare a complete synthesis and analysis of key takeaways. A timeline, the updates and resources page, and other FAQ can be found at glaciermt.com/stewardship.

Mark Your Calendar
Board Meetings


MAR

8

March 8, 2022
Noon — 3 p.m.
Virtual

MAY

10

May 10, 2022
Noon — 3 p.m.
In person, Location TBD

OCT

11

October 11, 2022
Noon — 3 p.m.
In person, Location 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
FY 2022 through November 2021

Tablet-Friendly Guide Visits

35,207

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

85,148

Website Visits

890,640

Social Media Impressions

11,667,999

Paid Media Impressions

7,293,979

Earned Media Ad Value

$1,605,100

 

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

Tourism Sales
and Public Relations Update

In early November, U.S. land and air borders reopened to fully vaccinated visitors for nonessential travel, which was great news for Glacier Country towns bordering Canada. However, with the Omicron variant on the rise, Canadians returning from short trips must test within 72 hours of crossing back into Canada. International tour operators in key markets, specifically Europe, have been fielding an increase in calls for itineraries to Montana and the Great American West for 2022 and beyond.

In October, Glacier Country Tourism finished our Virtual Meeting Planner FAM series with a focus on Whitefish. We had 61 meeting planners register and 37 in attendance on the day of the FAM with others viewing the recorded version later. All three virtual FAMS—Whitefish, Missoula and Kalispell—have been viewed 117 times on our website with a total of 2,832 impressions. Requests for proposals for meetings and conventions in Western Montana continue to increase. Virtual FAMs can be seen at meetings.glaciermt.com/fam.

Debbie attended NTA's Travel Exchange in mid-November where she met with 23 tour operators and discussed group tours to the region. Remember: 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 focusing on in-region as well as out-of-state earned media this quarter. As Glacier Country Tourism embarks on the Destination Stewardship plan, promoting town hall meetings in each county has involved articles in many of the small-town newspapers, such as the Cut Bank Pioneer Press, the Seeley Swan Pathfinder and the Ravalli Republic. We appreciate the coverage these publications have provided as well as the attendance at town hall meetings by reporters.

Nationally, Glacier Country has made the news in articles such as “9 Truly Adventurous Things to Do in Whitefish MT and the Surrounding Communities” in 365 Atlanta Traveler, “Montana's Free Things to Do Include More Than Just Mountains” in Lonely Planet, and Exploring Native American Heritage in North Dakota, Montana and Idaho” in National Geographic UK.

Lucy will be attending the annual International Media Marketing event at the end of January in New York City.

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.

Digital Advertising Opportunities
Warm Season Cooperative
and Premium Positions Available

With winter underway, we're looking ahead to spring and summer. We still have a few warm season cooperatives and premium ad positions available for partners. More than 1.8 million unique visitors a year utilize glaciermt.com to assist in planning their vacations. Expose your business to travelers by taking advantage of our site's high traffic. With the warmer seasons approaching, you have the chance to advertise on our summer landing page or on our main home page for front-and-center exposure. Don't pass up these valuable opportunities to maximize visibility during our busiest time of year!

For more information or to secure a placement, email Glacier Country Tourism's Contract Agent for Media and Partnership Sales, Tia Metzger, at tia@windfallstudio.com.

Visit our Partner Center at partners.glaciermt.com.

partners.glaciermt.com

Disclaimer
© 2022 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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