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Warming Up to Tourists

By Kellyn Brown

Summer tourists began arriving in droves over Memorial Day weekend. And with them, we heard the first gripes from locals who complain that the sightseers are overcrowding our roads and a few of those same visitors (the humanity!) may opt to stay permanently.

But this year, perhaps more than the previous, just as many Montanans appear eager to welcome the company and the wallets tourists bring with them. After slogging through the shoulder season, the mood among local business owners has begun to brighten a bit as the weather has warmed and more patrons arrive. For them, a new season is welcome and the motor homes backing up traffic on area highways are a necessary evil.

This newfound appreciation for tourists began well before the recession derailed a northwest Montana economy reliant on manufacturing, population growth and, yes, tourism. The Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research has been gauging Montanans’ attitudes toward the latter since 1992. And while some of its poll numbers have changed very little, there are signs that more locals acknowledge the vital role tourism plays.

Each year, the Institute has presented Montanans with three statements and asked if they agree. One is: “In recent years, the state is becoming overcrowded because of more tourists.” In 1995, a full 50 percent of Montanans agreed, or strongly agreed.

Yet in 2008, asked to respond to the same statement, just 27 percent agreed. Are there fewer tourists today? No, but the population appears to have become more accustomed to the peak season and more accustomed to highway traffic backed up by fifth-wheelers.

Other indicators have changed less dramatically. In the same time period, from 1995 to 2008, the number of Montanans who agree, “if tourism increases in Montana, the overall quality of life for Montana residents will improve” has increased from 57 percent to 60 percent. And locals who think, “the overall benefits of tourism outweigh the negative impacts” has risen from 70 percent to 74 percent.

This, by no means, implies that those living in tourist-rich areas like the Flathead Valley believe seasonal tourism alone can sustain their economy. As the area’s unemployment rate – which has fallen lately, but remains above 10 percent – has shown, the area was ill-prepared to sustain a sudden slow-down in the housing market that was previously buoying both our building and timber industries.

There is an effort afoot to change how the Flathead Valley’s economy looks. City and county officials are working, with some success, to attract new employers by offering them incentives for bringing jobs to the area. Montana West Economic Development recently helped Stoltze Lumber Co. get a grant to study the feasibility of building an energy cogeneration plant to their sawmill. The group is also hoping to help an equipment supplier for gun manufacturing and a prescription lens maker to the area.

But if the Flathead is striving for a “diversified,” thus more stable, economy, then tourism will still play a role. And instead of complaining about the number of visitors, a few more Montanans are embracing them for choosing to spend money here. It’s a wise move.

In the Institute for Tourism’s report, which was last updated in February, researchers say they are interested see if locals’ perceptions change even more “after the 2008 decline and 2009 expected decline in nonresident visitation is felt by residents.”

With so many still looking for work, I predict that many Montanans have far greater concerns than the number of motor homes on their highways.