MONTANA'S TOURISM INDUSTRY REBOUNDS THROUGH THE PANDEMIC: Travelers Set Records in State and National Parks.

• Author: Bermingham, Carter

Montana's tourism industry is now through its second summer under the cloud of COVID-19. Despite the challenges presented in 2020, including stay-at-home orders, closed borders, businesses and schools, Montana's abundance of open space and outdoor activities drew millions of travelers. In fact, some locales were overwhelmed with the number of visitors, which stretched the capacity of campgrounds, public lands and some businesses as they operated with limited staffing, hours and customer capacity. It made for challenges that some were eager to face, as it meant a return of business, while others were dismayed with the crowds.

How Tourism Fared in 2020

2020 estimates from the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research (ITRR) indicate that 11.13 million travelers came to the Montana during the year, down 12% from 2019. Half of those travelers (5.6 million or 51%) came during the third quarter (July-September). Despite the interruptions to business as usual, nonresident travelers spent $3.14 billion in Montana in 2020. While still a 16.5% decrease from 2019, the drop was less bleak than anticipated.

Travel spending by out-of-staters directly supported $2.60 billion in economic activity in the state, with a combined industry output of $4.4 billion. Directly supported were 30,750 jobs and $776 million in employee compensation, and a contribution of $212.7 million in state and local taxes.

Indicators of Another Successful Year in 2021

Even with the uncertainty surrounding the continued presence of COVID-19, Montana residents used the experiences gained in 2020 to position themselves for another busy year entering 2021. ITRR will soon begin analysis of data collected during the third quarter of the year from nonresident travelers to the state. In the meantime, signs point toward evidence of a busy summer.

Already for 2021, Yellowstone National Park has set visitation records for the months of May (473,799), June (938,845) and July (1,081,062) with no signs of slowing down in August or September. Glacier National Park also began implementing a summer reservation system to access the popular Going-to-the-Sun Road.

While Montana State Parks experienced record-setting visitation in 2020, data from 2021 indicate things have been even busier than before. Both residents and nonresidents have flocked to state parks--with an estimated 1,570,134 visitors as of July 2021, an increase of 11.1% over 2020, and a 44.1% increase over 2019.

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