Five months ago, Montana U.S. Sen. Max Baucus visited the Flathead Valley on what he called a “jobs tour,” seeking suggestions about how he could help spur employment in a county that has seen some of the highest unemployment numbers since the recession hit.
During his visit, Baucus said he is focused on expanding Canadian tourism in the valley, and said he would start a tourism-trade mission this fall. On Oct. 15, that mission came to fruition.
Baucus announced the launching of the Montana Tourism-Trade Mission to Canada, which includes business partners North Valley Hospital, Kalispell Regional Medical Center, the Kalispell Convention and Visitors Bureau, Buck’s T-4 in Big Sky, and various Town Pump and Townhouse Inns across the state.
The reason behind the mission is simple: tourists bring money to the area.
“The bottom line is: the more tourists we can bring to Montana, the more jobs they will support at our Main Street businesses,” Baucus said in a prepared statement. “Retail prices are higher in Canada than they are in Montana so now is the time to play our strong suit and aggressively ramp up tourism.”
Baucus said he understands tourism’s importance in the Flathead Valley. Last year, tourism accounted for $300 million in the Flathead’s economy, and $3 billion for the entire state.
Tourism also supports 19,000 jobs statewide, Baucus noted, and more than 8 million jobs across the country and 28,000 in Montana depend on Canadian trade.
In his May visit, Baucus said the Flathead Valley has “huge potential” for economic growth.
“I really understand the timber industry does not have as many jobs as it once did,” Baucus said in May. “Life changes. You just got to go on. You have to look for new opportunities and new ways to make things work … You have to look for opportunities. They don’t usually come to you. And once you go looking around, you find them.”
The tourism-focused trade mission is designed to continue building on the relationships and business contacts made during Baucus’ 2011 trade mission to Canada, which included 20 Montanans from 14 different groups representing agriculture, manufacturing and tourism.
Baucus’ office has set up trade trips for Montanans to Mexico, Cuba, Japan, China, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, India, Brazil and Colombia. The senator, who is the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, also recently returned from a trip to the European Union – Montana’s third-largest trading partner.
According to Baucus’ staff, he asserted that the top leadership in the EU should lift “unscientific” restrictions on beef and pork; urged manufacturing heavyweight Siemens to consider investing in Montana’s technology education; and brokered an agreement with Brussels-based Anheuser-Busch InBev for a long-term commitment to buy Montana barley.
For more information, visit www.baucus.senate.gov.