Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research

Report Number: Research Report 72
Authors: Thale Dillon
Month Published: February 2000

This report presents Montana residents' opinions and attitudes about tourism in Montana and in their community. A mail-back questionnaire was administered to a randomly selected sample of 1,000 residents of Montana during October and November, 1999. The initial mailing was followed one week later by a reminder postcard and two weeks after that by a replacement questionnaire to those residents who had not yet responded.

Exactly half of the respondents were native-born Montanans. On average, they had lived in the state for over 90 percent of their lives.
Most residents report that they live in town as opposed to out of town.
Professionals and retirees were the most frequently represented employment groups.
Tourism/recreation ranked fourth behind agriculture/agribusiness, retail and wholesale trade, and services as providing the best opportunity for future economic development in Montana.
Almost three-fourths of Montanans feel their jobs are not at all dependent on tourism. The same amount of residents feel their income is not at all dependent on tourism.
While contact with tourists is infrequent, residents generally try to make them feel welcome.
Residents feel strongly that they should be involved in tourism planning.
Most residents feel that the population in their community is growing. A majority feels it is growing too fast.
Residents support tourism development, but do not feel they will benefit personally from an increase in the industry. They worry that tourism will deteriorate the quality of life in their community.
Most residents would support land-use regulations to help control growth in their area.
Residents generally feel there is adequate undeveloped open space in their area, but are concerned about its potential disappearance.
Economic benefits are perceived to be the top advantage of increased tourism, while crowding/congestion, tourists moving here, and the environmental impact are considered the top disadvantages.
Operation/maintenance of State Parks, managing fish and wildlife resources, and support for local public services are the items of highest priority for funding by the Bed Tax.