Article by Alex Tyson, IOM, CATP, Executive Director of Visit Billings Managed by the Billings Chamber of Commerce
Photos courtesy of Visit Billings
More than ever, it’s important to prioritize the focus on Billings’ tourism industry.
Looking within the destination, and to residents, Visit Billings is establishing fresh efforts in fiscal year 2025 that offer a greater understanding of the relevance of tourism to residents and business owners, which builds resiliency for both the tourism industry and the local economy.
With the strategic and competitive investment of state lodging facility-use tax and tourism business improvement district funds, Visit Billings, the Billings Chamber, and Billings lodging partners continue to lead Billings in destination marketing, management, sales, and leadership efforts to foster visitor growth to the city, help residents, community leaders, and elected officials better understand the power of tourism, and ensure the industry remains an influential tool in economic growth for the city for decades to come.
What is tourism? The United Nations Tourism Organization offers the definition that tourism is a social, cultural, and economic phenomenon which entails the movement of people to countries or places outside their usual environment for personal or business/professional purposes. Billings hosts more than 2.6 million visitors annually who travel to the city for business demands, medical needs, and leisure offerings. This can include vacations, weekend getaways, meetings, conferences, appointments, or sports events. Those 2.6 million visitors typically spend an average of $621 million in Billings businesses like gas stations, restaurants, hotels/campgrounds, retailers, and attractions. However, Billings is only playing host to 20.8% of travelers to Montana (ITRR, 2022). In 2022, 12.5 million people visited Montana and spent $5.82 billion. Billings can responsibly host more annual visitors to better support the economy and new businesses including seven new hotels opening that will push hotel room inventory in Billings to over 5,100 guest rooms.
What is in it for residents?
• Tourism reduces the average tax burden on every Montana household by more than $721 per year.
• 1 in 13 Montana workers is supported by out-of-state travel.
• Non-Montana resident visitors contributed $315 million in state and local taxes in 2022, most of which is directed to the state’s general fund to support budgets for the State of Montana and numerous programs and state agencies.
Tourism’s impact on Billings’ economy is often understated. But, the work Visit Billings contributes, as laid out in its 2024-2027 Strategic Plan and Vision, works to increase the city’s competitive edge against other destinations, stimulate economic growth, cultivate a vibrant community where people want to visit and build a tourism brand that can elevate community pride.
Visit Billings: A Destination Leadership Organization
Visit Billings is the brand that represents the Billings Tourism Business Improvement District (BTBID) and the Billings Convention and Visitors Bureau (BCVB). Both organizations are managed by the Billings Chamber of Commerce. The Visit Billings team is committed to growing visitation at Montana’s Trailhead through sales and marketing initiatives. Visit Billings’ mission is to generate room nights for lodging facilities in the city of Billings by effectively marketing the region as a preferred travel destination. As a destination leadership organization (DLO), Visit Billings is the backbone of the tourism industry for Billings. A DLO protects and fosters the local visitor economy through promotion, marketing, destination management, and strategies.
The 2024-2027 Strategic Plan and Vision
Released in early 2024, the Visit Billings three-year strategic plan recommends core objectives and key strategies for achievement to drive visitor-related economic impact to the city. The BTBID Board of Directors prioritized sections of the plan for fiscal year 2025 execution including:
- Evaluate Sports Tourism Leadership Options (Authority/Council)
- Rebrand of Visit Billings
- Tourism Education
- Need Period(s) Events
The full vision as well as the FY25 marketing plan are available at: www.VisitBillings.com/tbid-stakeholder
This article originally published in the Fall 2024 Edition of LiNK, powered by Simply Local.
