Residents Define the Role of Tourism in Montana

Resident Attitudes Regarding Tourism

Thale Dillon

Institute for Tourism & Recreation Research

The University of Montana

Why Resident Attitudes Matter:

• Non-resident travel is a major industry in Montana

• Residents are a major part of the industry: 1 in 5 of summer visitors cite “friendly people” as a reason for coming to the state

• Resident attitudes help assess the acceptability of the industry, and how Montanans are affected by it

Community Attachment:

• Residents would be sorry to leave their community

• Residents want to be involved in community decisions regarding tourism

• Residents would rather live in their community than anywhere else

• Residents are concerned about the future of their community

Quality of Life Factors:

• Overall community livability is in good condition, and will be influenced positively by tourism

• Emergency services are in good condition, but tourism’s influence is uncertain

• Safety from crime is in good condition, and tourism will influence it both positively and negatively

Quality of Life Factors:

• Availability of jobs is in poor condition, and perceived to be mostly positively affected by tourism

• Traffic congestion and cost of living are in poor condition, with tourism expected to have both positive and negative effects

The Tourism Industry in Montana

• 1% thinks tourism should have no role in local economy

• 26% support a minor role

• 57% feels tourism should play a role equal to other industries

• 10% are supportive of a dominant role for tourism

Opportunity for Economic Development

• The tourism & recreation industry was ranked fourth

out of seven industries for

providing economic development in the

state

• 1. Agriculture/agri- business

• 2. Retail & wholesale trade

• 3. Services

• 4. Tourism/recreation

• 5. Manufacturing

• 6. Wood products

• 7. Mining

Residents’ Contact with Tourists

• Few residents encounter

tourists on a regular basis

19%

29%

35%

17%

Regular

SomewhatfrequentInfrequent

Almostnever

Residents’ Behavior Towards Tourists

30%

8%

62%

Makethem feelwelcomeNo specificreaction

Try toavoid them

• The majority of residents

strive to make visitors feel

welcome

Perceived Job Dependency(Degree to which a person’s job depends on tourism)

18%9%

73%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Not at alldependent

Somewhatdependent

Verydependent

Perceived Income Dependency(Degree to which a person’s income depends on tourism)

17%

1%6%

3%

73%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

0% 1-25% 26-50% 51-75% 76-100%

+ Resident Attitudes +• Support for continued tourism promotion• Promotion benefits community economically• Adequate undeveloped open space in community• Feel their community is an attractive place for

tourism development• Access to recreation opportunities not limited by

tourists• Overall benefits outweigh negative impacts

- Resident Attitudes -• Too many tourists end up moving to Montana

• Concern with potential disappearance of open space

• Disagree that increased tourism improves quality of life for residents

• Disagree that tourism would help community grow in right direction

• No personal financial benefit from tourism development

Familiarity with the Bed Tax

7%

1% 2%

29%

22%

19% 20%

1 Not at all familiar

2

3

4 Aware but notwell informed

5

6

7 Well informed1 32 4 5 6 7

Use of Bed Tax DollarsTop Priorities

• 1. State Parks operation and maintenance

• 2. Management of fish and wildlife resources

• 3. Support for local public services in high tourism areas

Use of Bed Tax DollarsBottom Priorities

• 11. Promotion of local/regional areas

• 12. Promotion of Montana

• 13. Local infrastructure development

Montana Poll Questions Overall benefits of tourism

outweigh the negative impactsMean Response 0.85

Strongly Disagree (-2) 6%

Disagree (-1) 10%

Don’t Know (0) 11%

Agree (1) 38%

Strongly Agree (2) 35%

Montana Poll Questions Increases in tourism will improve

quality of life for MontanansMean Response 0.06

Strongly Disagree (-2) 19%

Disagree (-1) 21%

Don’t Know (0) 13%

Agree (1) 29%

Strongly Agree (2) 18%

Montana Poll Questions The state is becoming overcrowded

due to more touristsMean Response -0.16

Strongly Disagree (-2) 21%

Disagree (-1) 31%

Don’t Know (0) 8%

Agree (1) 24%

Strongly Agree (2) 16%

Residents’ Opinions--why do we ask?

• A measure of satisfaction with the industry--allows for identification of potential problem areas

• Resident support can make or break tourism industry--residents are half the product!

Thank You !

www.forestry.umt.edu/itrr