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Who’s Visiting Montana?

By Beacon Staff

Tourism is the state’s second-largest and fastest-growing industry, so it’s clear people like to come to Montana. But who are these people? Where do they come from and why do they come here? And what exactly do they do while they’re here?

Those are among the many questions surveyors from the University of Montana Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research (ITRR) ask tourists at polling locations across the state as part of its ongoing nonresident study.

The research helps state tourism officials and business owners better understand their target audience and create more specific marketing strategies. And beginning this week, the institute has a new function on its website allowing people to customize reports to find out particular traveler characteristics pertaining to specific regions in the state.

Data for the ITRR’s nonresident report is collected continuously year-round by nine surveyors located throughout Montana. The surveyors average two days a week working four- to 10-hour shifts at gas stations, rest stops and airports in Kalispell, Missoula, Billings and Bozeman. Those sites are considered “neutral and unbiased to specific visitor types.”

The onsite questionnaire is followed up by a longer mail-back survey, which 28 percent of travelers completed in 2010. The result is a detailed profile of the nonresident visitor in Montana, with information ranging from length of stay to spending habits to favorite activities, among other data.

In the institute’s 2010 report released this month, research found that 10.5 million nonresidents visited Montana last year, mostly for vacation though many were passing through, visiting family and friends, shopping, here on business or for other reasons.

Travelers came from across the world, including Hong Kong, Israel, Bolivia and Singapore, but the majority hailed from places a lot closer to home.

Of the 9,022 nonresidents polled in the survey, 11 percent named Washington as their state of residency, slightly more than Wyoming and Idaho, which were at 9 and 8 percent, respectively. Seven percent called Alberta home, though a long list of other Canadian provinces were also represented.

The report reinforced what tourism officials have long known: The primary driving forces behind the state’s tourism industry are Yellowstone and Glacier national parks. Sixty-three percent of travelers in 2010 said they visited Yellowstone and 35 percent said they went to Glacier while in Montana. The next most popular individual site was Little Bighorn Battlefield at 15 percent.

Sixty-one percent of travelers here on vacation in 2010 said they were attracted to Montana by the mountains and forests, 46 percent said open space and un-crowded areas, 41 percent said rivers and 40 percent listed wildlife as an attraction. Yellowstone was the top “primary” attraction and Glacier was second.

The most popular activity is scenic driving, followed by wildlife watching, nature photography, day hiking and recreational shopping. Among the other activities listed were camping, visiting historical sites, visiting American Indian reservations, skiing and gambling.

Travelers spent an average of 4.47 nights during their stay, with 37 percent sleeping at a hotel, 26 percent staying with a friend or family member, 11 percent choosing a private campground and 8 percent camping on public land.

Using ITRR’s new report customization feature online, data for Northwest Montana largely follows those same trends for 2010 with one major and obvious difference – Glacier far outpaces Yellowstone as the primary attraction in this region.

Even with recent reports showing that Glacier visitation is down 19 percent this year compared to last year’s record visitation, primarily due to unseasonable weather, the ITRR’s research suggests that the park – as one of the state’s two biggest attractions – will bounce back.