Nonresident Visitors To Montana Set Visitation, Spending Records

Recent research shows both the number of nonresident visitors to Montana and how much they spent in the state were higher in 2012 than any previous year.

Estimates produced by The University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research show that 10.8 million people visited Big Sky Country, an increase of 2 percent from 2011. Spending by those visitors increased about 15 percent from the year before, totaling $3.27 billion.

Money spent by nonresident travelers directly supports $2.6 billion in economic activity and nearly 30,000 Montana jobs. Nonresident travelers indirectly support an additional $1.6 billion of economic activity and 13,000 jobs. Associated with those travel-related jobs is $805 million in labor income directly attributable to nonresident travel and another $448 million indirectly attributable to nonresident spending.

The Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research produces these annual estimates based on data collected by a team of surveyors located across Montana.

Contact:
Norma Nickerson, director, UM Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research, 406-243-2328, [email protected] .

Full Story: http://news.umt.edu/2013/04/041213itrr%20.aspx