Glacier Country Tourism FY 2022 Annual Report

GLACIER COUNTRY TOURISM

Dear Glacier Country Tourism partners and friends,

FY 2022 brought continued record reservations across the region delivering both strong economic recovery with high visitation numbers . With the recovery, we also experienced challenges related to too many visitors during the summer—often overwhelming businesses and communities that were simultaneously experiencing rising operation costs, supply chain issues, lack of available workforce, workforce housing and childcare shortages . Responding to what our communities were reporting, we continued our visitor-facing messaging focused on encouraging our visitors to recreate responsibly and urging visitors and residents to be good stewards of Montana’s cultures and land through our Recreate Responsibly principles: know before you go, plan ahead, play it safe, explore mindfully, leave no trace, prevent wildland fires and aquatic invasive species, practice wildlife, avalanche and water safety, and practice respectful travel on tribal lands .

As tourism increased worldwide, many destinations, including Glacier Country, realized the importance of planning for sustainable growth and minimizing adverse effects on their communities and natural resources .

Glacier Country Tourism’s board of directors and team both acknowledged the positive impacts of tourism through increasing the overall quality of life for residents, yet acknowledged that the sharp increase in tourism added pressure to the challenges Western Montana was already facing With tourism serving as the largest state economic driver after agriculture, there was significant interest in how a stronger and smarter tourism industry might help mitigate these impacts . Glacier Country Tourism set out to understand these impacts by investing and engaging in a year-long community driven process to create a Destination Stewardship Strategy . The result provides our communities and tourism industry with a 10-year action plan for responsibly stewarding our destination and promoting the economic health of our region . In October 2022, we approved this plan, which included a new mission and vision statement and created five organizational strategic pillars

MISSION

Glacier Country Tourism partners with our Western Montana communities to welcome visitors and support livelihoods while protecting quality of life, extraordinary outdoor resources and cultural heritage .

We create a destination organization plan yearly to:

+ BE an advocate for Western Montana

+ ENCOURAGE responsible tourism and recreation

+ ENHANCE experiences in rural communities

VISION STATEMENT

Glacier Country Tourism will be the leading destination steward of our region’s cultural heritage and natural environment, balancing the quality of life of our residents with the quality of our visitor experiences .

+ SHAPE demand and disperse visitors

+ FOSTER stronger stakeholder alignment and collaboration

Our partnership program continues to successfully provide free and fee-based opportunities to our businesses and communities . We know the importance of supporting our communities and are thrilled that this structure has been so well received, resulting in stronger engagement between local business organizations and Glacier Country Tourism . In the long run, we are all working toward maintaining a healthy and vibrant community and economy together .

It is my pleasure to share our FY 2022 Annual Report with you, which highlights some of the important work accomplished . We look forward to continuing this journey together .

Best regards,

Racene Friede

President CEO, Glacier Country Tourism

According to the Institute for Tourism & Recreation Research (ITRR), Glacier Country received 25% of Montana’s nonresident visitor spending ($1 .3 billion) and visitation (5 .5 million) in 2021 Half of those travelers (2 7 million or 52 1%) came during the third quarter (July –September) . Tourism builds our communities by amplifying the experiences we enjoy . It enhances our quality of place and thus our quality of life, making our state a great place to live, work and play . As a destination marketing and management organization, we know our ultimate customers are our fellow residents . The visitors we host supply us with far more experiences than we could afford on our own

We have been successful in our efforts and are constantly reevaluating how we market our destination . To this end, Glacier Country Tourism continued our consumer safety marketing program with a robust Recreate Responsibly initiative, encouraging visitors and residents to play it safe, tread lightly and leave no trace

We invested $776,735 in paid print and digital placements in Yellowstone Journal, Smart Meetings, Meetings Today, Meetings Professionals International, Great American West, Group Tour Magazine, On The Snow and Tripadvisor, and advanced audience marketing on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Sojern and TikTok We targeted markets in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Seattle, Minneapolis, Denver, Chicago, Phoenix, San Diego and San Jose . We also implemented an in-state campaign with placements on broadcast television, local radio, Spotify, connected TV, local news sites and in-region billboards, which resulted in:

+ Consumer response = 2,417,516

+ Electronic response = 2,373,157

+ Social media audience = 402,462

+ Responsive website = 2,104,422

+ Consumer database = 1,445,655

+ Qualified B2B database = 3,353

+ Earned media ad value = $2,951,009

The entire Montana tourism industry is grateful to the Montana Legislature for continuing to provide the promotion, funding and resources needed to successfully market our state, region and community destinations . This continued investment means the average tax burden on every Montana household is reduced by $866, according to the Montana Office of Tourism, Brand MT . We look forward to creating more innovative and cutting-edge programs that will generate an even greater return on our investment and a speedy road to recovery throughout the entire Glacier Country region .

GENERAL INFO

GLACIER COUNTRY TOURISM

Glacier Country Regional Tourism Commission is a nonprofit organization dedicated to marketing Western Montana as a travel destination . We are recognized by TAC (Tourism Advisory Council) and the state as the official marketing organization for Western Montana . Glacier Country Tourism is funded in part by the state accommodations tax (bed tax) and by private membership funds . Geographically, Glacier Country includes Flathead, Glacier, Lake, Lincoln, Mineral, Missoula, Ravalli and Sanders counties .

DESTINATION MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT

A destination marketing (and management) organization (DMO) is responsible for promoting a community as an attractive travel destination and enhancing its public image as a dynamic place to live and work . Through the impact of travel, DMOs strengthen the economic position and provide opportunities for people in their community . Such organizations are essential to the economic and social well-being of the communities they represent, driving direct economic impact through the visitor economy and fueling development across the entire economic spectrum by creating familiarity, attracting decision-makers, sustaining air service and improving the quality of life in a place . Destination promotion is in fact a public good for the benefit and well-being of all—an essential investment no community can afford to abate without causing detriment to the community’s future economic and social well-being .

In Western Montana, the officially recognized DMO is Glacier Country Tourism—one of 25 regional and community destination marketing organizations across Montana

Glacier Country Tourism creates a yearly marketing plan to establish a promotion strategy for all travel-related advertising, trade sales and publicity to:

+ Reach identified markets and audiences

+ Present them with a unified message

+ Create a desire to visit

+ Get visitors to come and stay in Glacier Country

Montana Tourism Economy

According to the University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism & Recreation Research (ITRR):

Nonresident visitors spent

$5.15 billion

in direct expenditures in 2021, which is new money for Montana’s economy .

12.5 million

nonresident visitors traveled to Montana

Visitor economy directly supports approximately

68,630 jobs and $1 3 billion in worker salaries .

The tourism industry works to promote and preserve the qualities that make Montana a great place to live, work and play .

Travelers add to the lifestyle many Montanans enjoy Better air service results in competitive airfares, and the quality and quantity of restaurants, retail shopping, special events, recreation opportunities and attractions are increased .

What residents of Montana enjoy now is far more than what the state’s population could support on its own

BRAND

The Montana brand is Glacier Country’s brand Our offerings—specifically nature, communities and welcoming residents—blend together to provide services and experiences that help share our marketing messages while effortlessly aligning with our three brand pillars:

1 . More spectacular unspoiled nature than anywhere else in the lower 48 states

2 . Vibrant and charming small towns that serve as gateways to the state’s natural wonders

3

. Breathtaking experiences by day and relaxing hospitality at night

According to ITRR: .

of nonresident visitors in 2021were first-time visitors

20 % were repeat visitors

66 % plan to return to Montana within the next two years

72 %

While people certainly come to Montana for its beautiful landscapes and exciting recreation, it is the many Montanans who deliver authentic experiences that help turn our first-time visitors into return visitors .

© GLACIER COUNTRY TOURISM

ADVOCACY

Tourism Matters to Montana is a collaborative group made up of the tourism region, convention and visitor bureau (CVB) and tourism business improvement district (TBID) destination marketing organizations across Montana It operates as a committee under the umbrella of Glacier Country Tourism, which is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization . It acts as an independent committee with separate accounting . Funding comes from nonlodging tax sources including TBIDs, membership funds and resort tax areas

Because Tourism Matters to Montana partners are often associated with chambers of commerce, economic development associations and other membership organizations, these two entities represent thousands of tourism businesses across Montana .

The primary purpose of Tourism Matters to Montana is legislative advocacy during both general and special sessions of the Montana Legislature .

+ Protect the 4% lodging tax used for tourism promotion .

+ Emphasize the fact that tourism doesn’t just happen

+ Destination marketing is highly competitive . Not only do the western United States and Canada have similar products, but so do countries across the world with bigger marketing budgets to keep their destinations top of mind to potential visitors .

+ Montana’s promotion funding must remain (at minimum) at current levels or increase for us to continue to bring travel dollars into our communities .

+ Monitor and take positions on issues that impact the tourism industry either directly or indirectly .

+ Collaborate with partners to provide accurate information on legislative bills

+ Collaborate with partners to support or oppose bills under the name of Tourism Matters to Montana and assist DMOs and their networks to do the same .

+ Encourage industry partners to engage with their elected officials and participate in the legislative process .

+ Work with tourism partners to provide a unified voice on issues and collaborate on strategy development and implementation on proactive and reactive legislation .

+ Maintain tourismmattersmt org, social channels and newsletters to support efforts, providing easy access to current legislators, bills, communication tools and talking points for issues .

OUTREACH AND EDUCATION

Voices of Montana Tourism is an independent organization that serves as a united voice for Montana’s tourism stakeholders . Since its creation in 2011, Voices has led the effort with education and outreach to communicate the immense value a sustainably grown tourism industry provides for all Montanans . Glacier Country Tourism is one of the many founding partners and continues to play an active role in the governance and oversight of its mission and supporting programs .

Funding for this organization comes from a variety of sources, including lodging tax . In 2017, Voices of Montana Tourism became a standalone 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization . It does not take positions on legislative issues .

RURAL CORRIDOR MARKETING PLAN

In FY 2022, Glacier Country Tourism continued our strategic marketing plan specific to our rural corridors Our nine corridors cover all of our smaller communities . Our marketing plan consisted of a website, travel guide, blogs, social and video content creation specific to our rural corridors

In addition to our promotion, education, outreach and training, Glacier Country Tourism reported on our marketing efforts for each corridor on a quarterly basis .

We added digital assets to our photo and video library and produced corridor videos

BLACKFOOT AND SEELEY SWAN COORIDORS FALL

Glacier Country Tourism developed another rural corridor video this fall featuring the Blackfoot and Seeley Swan corridors . Locations included Milltown State Park, Browns Lake, Blackfoot River, Garnet Ghost Town, KettleHouse Brewing Company, Seeley Lake and Salmon Lake .

FLATHEAD CORRIDOR SUMMER

Glacier Country Tourism developed a summer-focused Flathead corridor video as well Locations included Arlee, Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana, Miracle of America Museum, Polson, Woods Bay, Bigfork, Flathead Lake and Wild Horse Island .

© ANDY AUSTIN

© GLACIER COUNTRY TOURISM

© CHRIS SAWICKI

FILM PROMOTION PROGRAM

FY 2022 was an incredibly busy film production period in Montana, with a direct economic impact of $153 . 9 million with $41 . 5 million in employee compensation . In Glacier Country alone, there were 49 known film projects between July 2021 and June 2022 .

Glacier Country Tourism continued our efforts to support the film industry and grew our film promotion program by building out the film microsite to include film location resources for 28 communities in the region . Paid promotion included sponsorships for the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival and International Wildlife Film Festival as well as print and online features with the Destination Film Guide .

RECREATE RESPONSIBLY

Glacier Country Tourism has been a leader in responsible recreation messaging within the state . In FY 2022, our projects included:

+ Development of Recreate Responsibly materials

+ Distribution of Recreate Responsibly materials to region partners and businesses: 1,601 posters, 9,441 rack cards, 222 table tents, 4,109 business cards, 10,141 stickers

+ Photo and video shoot

+ Production of short and long-form Recreate Responsibly videos

+ Dedicated paid media plan including print, gas station TV, local radio and social

+ Integration of Recreate Responsibly messaging into all paid media efforts

PARTNERS

+ Leave No Trace

+ Tread Lightly

+ Flathead River Alliance

+ Brand MT

+ Discover Kalispell

+ Montana State Parks

+ Destination Missoula

+ Explore Whitefish

+ Glacier National Park/ National Park Service

+ Montana DNRC

© ANDY AUSTIN

2021 Nonresident Expenditure Percentages in Glacier Country Travel Region

By the Numbers

Glacier Country Region 2021

$17,602,499 lodging tax collected in 2021

83% increase over prior year*

Airport Passengers (Missoula and Kalispell)

385,818 MSO deboarding passengers in 2021

84% increase over prior year*

416,224 FCA deboarding passengers in 2021

97% increase over prior year*

Glacier National Park Visitation Stats (NPS)

3,081,656 visitors in 2021

81% increase over prior year*

Glacier Country Partners FY 2022

623 total partners new partners

175

*Due to the pandemic, there was a significant disruption in 2020 visitation and spending Glacier National Park was closed March 24 to June 8 and the east side of the park remained closed for the remainder of that year

© GLACIER COUNTRY TOURISM

PUBLIC RELATIONS AND EARNED MEDIA

In 2022, our Public Relations and Earned Media program continued to promote Western Montana’s Glacier Country as a tourist destination while promoting sustainable tourism and responsible recreation with every inquiry, trip and partnership . This is accomplished through earned media by meeting with journalists, bloggers and influencers at conferences and media events, hosting events in regionally and demographically targeted cities, and hosted media trips Earned media totaled approximately $2 .95 million this year .

EARNED MEDIA FY 2022

$2,951,009 in total earned media

2,977,942 total circulation for print media

DIGITAL INFLUENCERS

+ $1,148,572 total social earned media

+ 319,327 likes

+ 2,900 comments

+ 4,560,533 reach for social media

846,917,480 total unique visitors for online media

71 total articles 9 media trips

© VAGABOND3

TOURISM SALES

TOURISM SALES - B2B

Glacier Country Tourism actively markets Western Montana’s Glacier Country to domestic group tour operators, international FIT (free independent travel) and the meetings and convention markets by focusing on business-to-business relationships and also assisting with requests for destination-related weddings and reunions . Glacier Country Tourism attends trade shows both virtually and in-person and fosters relationships with professionals around the world interested in bringing visitors to Western Montana . FY 2022 saw the return of in-person trade shows both in Tour and Travel and in the Meetings and Conventions markets .

TOUR AND TRAVEL (DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL)

+ 151 new tour and travel contacts added to our database of 1,348 accounts

+ NTA Travel Exchange, November 14 – 17, 2021

+ American Bus Association, January 8 – 11, 2022

+ Go West Summit Virtual, April 14 – 16, 2022

+ USA Northwest Spotlight, April 16 – 18, 2022

+ International Roundup, May 15 – 18, 2022

+ Hosted a UK Tour Operator FAM in Flathead Valley, May 18 – 21, 2022

+ IPW, June 5 – 8, 2022

MEETINGS AND CONVENTIONS

+ 656 new meeting planner contacts added to our database of 1,995 accounts

+ 37 meeting RFPs distributed to convention facilities in Western Montana

+ Hosted a Meeting Planner FAM, June 9 – 14, 2022

+ MPI-WEC, June 20 – 24, 2022

CONTINUING EDUCATION

+ ESTO, August 16 – 18, 2021

+ Destinations International Marketing & Communications, April 24 – 26, 2022

© NOAH COUSER

B2B BLOG STATS

260,426 total visits

18 1% decrease over FY 2020

+ Top 3 Posts From B2B Blog

17 Day Scenic Idaho and Montana Itinerary 42,911 1

2 Glacier National Park Vehicle Registration System 40,840

3 New Lodging and Tourism Products in Western Montana 38,701

B2B EMAIL

NEWSLETTERS

+ 4,871 Total Sends

MEETING PLANNER

NEWSLETTERS

+ 22 .4% Open Rate

+ 3 .2% Click Rate

TOUR OPERATOR

NEWSLETTERS

+ 21 .1% Open Rate

+ 2% Click Rate

VISITOR INFORMATION AND CALL CENTER

232,960 Total inquiries

48,000 Travel guides sent out

80,134 Digital travel guides viewed

Visitor Information Center Program

Glacier Country Tourism funded eight VICs providing personal travel counseling to

4,984 people

Top Six Markets:

 Montana  California

 Washington  Texas

 Florida  Oregon

Customer Service Training

 Two online courses: customer service essentials and conflict management

 Free for businesses and communities

 Focused on existing workforce employees

 Provided through University of Montana College of Business

 Attended by travel counselors from all funded VICs

Consumer Marketing

68 . 8 million impressions

329,663 clicks . 48% average click through rate (CTR)

GLACIERS TO GEYSERS

Glacier Country Tourism and Montana’s Yellowstone Country are partners on a Glaciers to Geysers branded park-to-park campaign The fourth year of the campaign had winter niche market focuses on snowmobiling and Nordic skiing . The campaign included advertising in Snow West Magazine and our Glacier Country Travel Guide, along with targeted digital and social advertising to our niche markets . For warm season, we developed a long-format motorcycling video featuring influencer Brady Mclean on a tour through Western Montana In addition to video content, we were able to gather new, incredible photography and drone footage to support the motorcycling campaign The video was pushed out though social channels and will be used for years to come .

$6 . 92 Average cost per thousand impressions (CPM)

$1 . 44 average cost per click (CPC)

FY 2022 Stats

402,462

Total Audience

2% increase over FY 2021

30 million

Total Impressions

9% increase over FY 2021

1 .

46 million

Total Engagement

6% decrease over FY 2021

333,414 @glaciermt Facebook

11,317 @glaciermt Twitter

258 Glacier Country Regional Tourism Commission LinkedIn

53,219 @glaciermt Instagram

3,912 @glaciermt Pinterest

337 @glaciermt TikTok

15,534 posts #GlacierMT

Consumer Blog

432,092 visits

27% increase over FY 2021

Top 5 Posts

1

Glacier Country’s Northwest

Corridor: A Winter Itinerary 56,190

2 Vegan and Vegetarian Culinary Adventures 55,989

3 Western Montana Wildfire Update 53,007

4 31 of the Best Photo Ops 51,445

5 Traveling With a Dog 49,234

2,104,422

792,590

80,134

Top

10 States and Cities

1 . Montana 183,925

2 . California 146,876

3 Texas 146,876

4 . Washington 123,354

5 . Illinois 86,869

6 . Utah 81,270

7 . Minnesota 78,871

8 New York 46,654

9 . Colorado 43,950

10 . Idaho 39,797

1 . Western MT 125,888

2 . Salt Lake City 75,310

3 Chicago 72,045

4 . Seattle 72,045

5 . Dallas 70,013

6 . Los Angeles 67,999

7 . New York City 40,910

8 Eastern Montana 40,893

9 . Houston 39,003

10 . Denver 37,562

EMAIL MARKETING

In FY 2022, Glacier Country Tourism distributed four consumer newsletters, four B2B newsletters and four partner newsletters .

Consumer Newsletters

878,523

total recipients

84,327 opens

9 . 6% average open rate

27,612 clicks 3 . 14% average click rate

© CHRIS SAWICKI

Meeting Our Objectives

FY 2022 MARKETING GOALS

1 . Raise awareness of Glacier Country as a recognized tourism destination in identified markets and audiences .

2 . Encourage residents and visitors to keep Montana a safe tourism destination by traveling responsibly, leaving no trace, practicing wildland fire safety, being decent human beings by being kind, respectful and patient with one another and by recreating responsibly .

3 . Increase visitation among resident, nonresident, domestic and international travelers . This includes:

+ Attracting new travelers

+ Encouraging current travelers to visit more often

+ Encouraging current travelers to stay longer

+ Encouraging awareness of packaging opportunities

+ Soliciting meetings and conventions

+ Soliciting packaged travel markets (group tours and FIT)

+ Positioning ourselves as a resource for information

+ Working with the Montana Film Office to solicit film industry productions

4 . Increase visitation year-round (especially shoulder and winter seasons)

5 Continue emphasis on cultural attractions found throughout Glacier Country, including Tribal Nations, historic sites, museums, etc .

6 . Continue to identify inquiries to convert them to visitors by capturing names for database marketing .

7 . Continue marketing efforts that highlight Glacier Country’s charming small towns/communities and amenities, cultural offerings, American Indian history, historical aspects, natural resources, tourism attractions and our welcoming atmosphere .

8 Raise awareness and understanding of Glacier Country Regional Tourism Commission within the region through positive publicity and community outreach .

9 . Cooperate with other tourism organizations such as Discover Kalispell, Destination Missoula and Explore Whitefish, chambers of commerce, TBIDs, arts organizations, Glacier National Park, Crown of the Continent Geotourism Council, Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development, Montana Film Office, tribal partners, other tourism regions and neighboring states and provinces, as well as other organizations and private businesses that share mutual goals and objectives .

10

. Provide supportive public education about Glacier National Park issues by cooperating with all tourism partners including Glacier National Park, Montana tourism regions, Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development, convention and visitor bureaus, TBIDs and chambers of commerce, as well as local, regional, national and international media .

11

. Continue targeted visitor appeals in Glacier Country Tourism’s marketing strategy, specifically relating to the Montana Tourism Recreation Strategic Plan .

12

. Incorporate Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development’s branding initiative into our various marketing projects .

13

. Encourage visitors to share their experience through emerging technologies and tools, such as social media .

14 . Increase focus on and implementation of the rural marketing initiative

15 Increase community awareness of Glacier Country Tourism .

16

. Increase community engagement and develop efforts to address workforce development

+ Increase overall consumer response by 2% over FY 2021

+ Increase electronic response by 2% over FY 2021

+ Increase our social media reach by 2% FY 2021

+ Increase social media audience by 2% over FY 2021

+ Increase use of responsive website by 2% over FY 2021

+ Increase our consumer lead database by 1 . 5% over FY 2021

+ Increase our trade show database by 4% over FY 2021

+ Increase earned media story ad value over FY 2021

+ Fund chamber/visitor information centers at up to $4,000 per project from Memorial Day to Labor Day FY 2020

+ Increase consumer and group suggested itineraries by two

+ Revenue indicators for performance + Stabilize

Tax Revenue Compared to 2019 (Not 2021)

+ Monitor RevPAR through Smith Travel Reports (STR) and Keydata + STR 72 . 82, 27% above 2021 + Keydata 165, 13 . 8% above 2021

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Shannon Brilz (Chair)

University of Montana Conference and Event Services

Ramona Holt (1st Vice Chair) Holt Heritage Museum

Amber Pacheco-Holm (2nd Vice Chair)

Montana Sky (Libby Area Chamber of Commerce)

Victoria Lee (Secretary-Treasurer) Glacier Distilling Company

EX OFFICIO

Racene Friede President CEO

Kristi McNeal

Director of Operations + Accounting

Debbie Picard

Director of Sales

Lucy Guthrie Beighle Director of Communications

Aerionna Skrutvold Marketing Project Manager

Ray Brown

Sanders County Economic Development Corporation

Chris Darlow

Darlow’s Quality Foods

Dirk De Coninck East Shore Smoke House

Rob Harvey

Big Sky Motel/Falls Motel

Ashley Kavanagh

Rose Petal Floral, Cafe, and Supplies

Barb Neilan

Destination Missoula/CVB/TBID

Matt Lautzenheiser Historical Museum at Fort Missoula

Aubrie Lorona Swan Mountain Outfitters

Troy Douthit Kootenai Country Montana

Barbara Liss

Montana Bliss Artworks

Christina “Riley” Polumbus North Valley Hospital

Brenda Schilling

Glacier County Regional Port Authority

Juli Thurston

MSU Extension Service Sanders County

Diane Medler Discover Kalispell/CVB/TBID

Dylan Boyle Explore Whitefish/CVB

Tia Metzger

Glacier Country Account Executive, Media Buyer

Jim McGowan Principal, Strategic Planning

Annie Mead Partnership Development

Alex Hanich

Social and Video Specialist

Holly Kuehlwein

Project Manager, Partnership Specialist

Megan Richter Bland Creative Director

Kyle McGowan Digital Director