Rebranding, Website Redesign + Destination Stewardship Town Halls
Exciting Things Are On the Horizon

Our organization is undergoing a strategic rebrand, aligning our name, logo and overall brand ethos to accurately reflect who we are and where we’re headed, and to ensure long-term relevance and resonance. We're also elevating our print and digital platforms. A revamped travel guide is in the works, and our redesigned website will soon offer our audience a more intuitive and technology-forward experience.

We continue to act on the Glacier Country Tourism Destination Stewardship Strategy. Our long-term commitment is to responsibly manage growth while building stronger, more sustainable communities. We're proactively mapping out the region’s evolution for the next decade, focusing on a sustainable path for all stakeholders. We’ll be announcing a series of eight in-person town hall meetings, where we will share details of our stewardship plan and provide a platform to discuss challenges, opportunities and strategies. Together, we'll identify actionable ways to enhance the region’s quality of life and foster economic prosperity. With your support and partnership, the future shines bright for Western Montana.

Tourism Sales Update

In FY 2023, we created three tour operator itineraries focusing on shoulder season promotion and off-the-beaten-path destinations. To discover the pulse of Western Montana's business-to-business tourism landscape, visit our B2B blog, which offers insights for meeting planners and tour operators seeking deeper engagement and growth in these markets. We share industry wisdom, best practices and trends. With shoulder seasons around the corner, we're looking for Glacier Country partners eager to share their stories through a guest blog. Highlight your group offerings, unveil hidden gems for the international visitor, and attract guests during the off-peak periods. Contact Debbie Picard at debbie@glaciermt.com or Aerionna Skrutvold at aerionna@glaciermt.com.

Public Relations Update

Western Montana continues to be featured in blogs and articles, often with a Recreate Responsibly or sustainability component to the feature. @HoneyTrek visited in September, with a theme of “the romantic and sustainable side of Glacier Country.” @2TravelDads and @BonTraveler came in October. Our team attended an educational conference hosted by U.S. Travel in Savannah, Georgia, in August. The Montana chapter of the Public Relations Society of America met in Missoula in October, and we played a role in welcoming fellow communications experts while showcasing what we have to offer in the region. If you are interested in having your business showcased in a FAM, we do have a couple on the horizon. Contact Lucy Beighle at lucy@glaciermt.com for more information.

Community
Engagement Update

Jenna Boltz, our Director of Community Engagement, spent the past several months in our communities, continuing to learn about their priorities while watching for resources that align and can support their initiatives. We've shared over $20,000 in funding opportunities with nonprofit groups in our region, and we continually assist with data research for projects and grant applications to help community partners secure funding. Cut Bank was recently awarded a $7,000 grant from our Cooperative Marketing Project Match Program for their community branding project—part of the larger program to provide small towns with opportunities and resources to shape their future. We also just committed $15,000 for the Clark Fork Coalition’s River Ambassador Program. Our community engagement program seeks to enhance and develop avenues for residents to stay informed, feel heard and become involved. Contact Jenna at gcstewardship@glaciermt.com to share feedback, resources and news.

GNP Research + Trends June – August 2023

Our goal is to understand changing visitor behaviors at Glacier National Park using Zartico's Destination Operating System™️. While visitation data from the park shows that overall visitation was slightly up in June and July, Zartico shows that visitation since 2021 has shifted more toward visitors who live closer to Montana. That shift resulted in lower cardholder spend, with the biggest decrease being in retail sales. On the national level, Zartico has seen a 4% decrease in visitor share since 2021 at Western national parks. The share of visitors observed in Glacier National Park has decreased yearly since the pandemic. Examining trend data in tandem with actual data provides a multidimensional view of visitor behavior, allowing for more nuanced and informed decision-making and enables the development of more effective, data-driven strategies to enhance visitor experience and manage resources efficiently, ensuring the sustainable growth of the tourism sector in Western Montana.