More tourists visiting Montana, boosting the bottom line for local businesses

The KOA Kampground in Great Falls is home to hundreds of travelers every night. Strategically located between Glacier and
Yellowstone national parks, the KOA is dependent on visitation to the two national parks.

By BETH BRITTON
Tribune Business Editor

"They’re passing through," KOA manager Jaime Jackson said of the majority of her visitors. "Our business depends on interest in
Glacier and Yellowstone."

And this year the interest is high.

Yellowstone National Park attracted 10 percent more visitors in July 2002 than it did in July 2001, and the number of visitors to
Glacier last month increased by almost 100,000 over last year at the same time.

With visitation up at the two national parks, regional businesses and attractions are enjoying a rise in visitor numbers, too.

"It’s increased from last year, definitely," Jackson said of KOA visitation. And more of the KOA visitors are staying in Great Falls
longer, she said.

Most visitors have their trips planned in advance, but Jackson and her staff promote regional attractions to keep travelers in Great
Falls for more than one night.

The summer season got off to a slow start, particularly along Highway 2, but traffic in the Russell Country tourism region has
gradually picked up in the last four to six weeks, according to Gayle Fisher, the executive director of the region.

"I do think park visitation is a big indicator of how people choose a vacation," Fisher said. "I think that is a driver."

If national parks are the drivers, then this season is in high gear.

Increased Glacier visitation has meant a successful summer for Eric and Nadeen Robinson, the owners of Choteau’s Big Sky
Motel. The couple moved to Montana last year from South Carolina and own and operate the 13-room motel.

"We’re up over last year; I think people are just staying and not traveling overseas," Eric Robinson said. "This is the scenic highway
between the two parks, and though there are some people who stay a few days, mostly this is just a stopping point for the night."

Great Falls is a stopping point for a growing number of RVers. At Dick’s RV Park, owner Bob Dick said June was "an extremely
good month for tourism in the city." The numbers were off a little in July, but August visitation is healthy, Dick said.

When people get to Great Falls, Dick said they are surprised at the number of attractions and things to do. The Lewis and Clark
Interpretive Center is a growing attraction for the RV park’s guests, he said.

Eight or nine bus caravans, most of which are following the Lewis and Clark Trail, already have made reservations for next
summer, Dick said.

"I think we are expecting that to grow," Russell Country’s Fisher said of travelers seeking to relive Lewis and Clark’s experience.
"It’s not a sudden boom, but the interest is there."

Many of the visitors to the KOA Kampground are in Great Falls specifically to see the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center,
Jackson added.

In Fort Benton, business owner and Fort Benton Chamber of Commerce Vice President Deanna Axtman is pleased with the 2002
summer tourism season.

Axtman owns the Levee Salon and MT Treasures, a shop specializing in Montana-made gifts. Her businesses are located on Front
Street, directly across from Shep’s statue.

"This summer has been great; it’s a big increase over last year. I’ve had much higher retail sales this year than in the past," Axtman
said. "This year I took a new approach and targeted more of the river traffic."

The canoers and the Lewis and Clark fans have kept her busy, but Axtman said her customers this summer seem to have wanted a
more rural and safe experience.

"We’ve seen a lot more people wanting to visit smaller communities," she said. Axtman admits that she was not optimistic about this
season.

"I was real concerned that it was not going to be a good season, that it was going to be down," she said. "But they are buying."

Not every business has had a banner summer season.

For Jack Smith, the owner of Valier’s Medicine River Trading Co. and Lame Bear Gallery of Western Art, business this summer
has been less than stellar.

"Overall, for the season so far, I’m off about 15 percent from last year," Smith said. "And I’ve spent 30 percent more on
advertising. It’s required more to get less."

Revenue is off 15 percent, but visitor numbers are down about 50 percent, he said. Smith attributes the decline in part to the

rating that identified Highway 44 as a construction zone.

"We’re considered a construction zone, and when people ask for travel paths, they route around you," Smith said. "Until a week
ago, there wasn’t even a delay. You just had to slow down."

Smith said he thinks businesses also are suffering from some aftereffects of September 11.

"We are seeing a lot of in-country people who might not have chosen this as their vacation spot last year, but there’s a different
attitude. They are cautious, even financially," Smith said.

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20020825/localnews/501769.html