Despite a shaky economy and lagging reservations, businesspeople from the Flathead’s tourism industry are hopeful their perennial ace will still draw summer visitors.
“I am always optimistic, mainly because we’re adjacent to Glacier National Park,” Jan Metzmaker, director of the Whitefish Convention and Visitors Bureau, said. “That counts for a lot – no matter the economy.”
With Memorial Day weekend just past, the shoulder season will soon be ending and the telltale signs of tourism season – out-of-state license plates, crowded shops, and no-vacancy signs – should quickly be upon us. But amid recession it’s unclear if the Flathead’s tourism industry will remain unscathed as more Americans are predicted to forgo travel this year.
At a recent economic outlook conference, the University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research predicted statewide travel would be down 2 to 6 percent this year.
Local tourism officials remain hopeful, however, that while vacationers are likely to change some habits, Glacier National Park will continue to draw millions of visitors to the valley.
There are caveats to that optimism, as officials recognize variables that are needed to keep business up: gas prices staying below $4; Glacier’s Going-to-the Sun Road opening on time; an absence of natural disasters like fire and flooding; and the smooth operation of Glacier Park International Airport’s runway resurfacing project.
“We don’t anticipate any drastic decreases (off of last year), unless we’re thrown a major curveball,” Dori Muehlhof, executive director of the Flathead Convention and Visitor Bureau, said.
Last year was a difficult one for Montana’s hospitality businesses. Tourist numbers and expenditures in Montana were down more than 6 percent in 2008, according to UM’s tourism institute.
About 10 million nonresident visitors came to Montana in 2008, a 6.4 percent decline from 2007 and the lowest number of visitors since 2004. While in Montana, those visitors combined spent a little more than $3 billion, which is down by 6.2 percent from 2007.
In the Flathead, 2008 was a bit of a mixed bag, resulting in a year that most retailers have said was off but not devastating. Economic concerns took their toll and the highest average gas prices ever recorded here – $4. 21 per gallon – hit during July 2008, Montana’s busiest travel month, killing some vacation plans, retailers say.
But there were bright spots that balanced out the doldrums. During the summer, Canadian visitors, drawn by a good exchange rate, boosted travel in the Flathead area and along the Hi-Line. And airline travel statewide was up almost 3 percent last year, with Glacier Park International Airport seeing a 5.1 percent increase.
A recent study by UM’s Tourism Institute also proves that tourism officials’ faith in the park isn’t unfounded. UM researchers Norma Nickerson and Dylan Boyle’s study found that 71 percent of first-time visits to Montana were to either Yellowstone or Glacier national parks.
And those travelers are likely to come back.
The repeat visitors in the study then indicated that in subsequent trips to Montana, the national parks were still a very strong attraction, perhaps even more so than on their first trip. Only 17 percent did not visit either Yellowstone or Glacier on subsequent trips to Montana.
Furthermore, the study showed travelers who visited Yellowstone on their first visit were more likely to spread out to other Montana communities in subsequent visits, while those who visited Glacier first often returned to Glacier and tended to concentrate subsequent trips on western Montana.
“Visitors who go to Glacier on their first trip seem to immediately become loyal followers of the park,” the researchers said in their report.
Even Glacier, though, saw a decline last year, with 2008 visitation down 2.5 percent from the previous year — from 2,083,328 guests to 2,030,502.
Park officials said the causes for the decline were two-fold: winter conditions in the park continued well into June, delaying the full opening of Going-to-the-Sun Road; and record-high gas prices deterred travelers.
So far this year, those traps have been avoided.
Damage from a huge avalanche that swept across the Sun Road in early January threatened to keep the popular scenic road from opening on time again. But park officials announced last week that the slide’s aftermath isn’t as bad as first expected and shouldn’t close the highway.
“At this point, we see no reason why the entire Sun Road won’t open to vehicle traffic when plowing is completed … and when road and weather conditions permit the entire 50-mile long historic landmark roadway to open across Logan Pass,” said Superintendent Chas Cartwright.
Despite a recent rise, gas prices are down as well, hovering around a national average of $2.25 per gallon this Memorial Day, according to AAA – significantly lower than the $3.94 per gallon some motorists were paying at the pump the same time last year.
That’s all good news for Flathead businesspeople who are keeping a bullish attitude and conducting business as usual.
“We’re seeing the typical run up to our busy season,” Joe Unterreiner, president of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, said. “Everybody’s getting ready, putting the shine on things.”