Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research

Report Number: Research Report 69
Authors: Kim McMahon, Norma Nickerson, J. Allen Ellard
Month Published: November 1999

This report describes general travel characteristics for Montana residents as well as detailed characteristics for residents who engage in pleasure travel for day trips, overnight trips in Montana, and trips taken out of state. Montana resident households were contacted through a random-digit dialing telephone survey between July 1, 1998, and June 30, 1999, and responses were weighted to reflect Montana's population. A total of 2,625 interviews were completed out of 3,552 contacted households for a response rate of 74 percent.

Seventy-five percent of Montana households participated in pleasure travel during the 12-month study period. Twenty-five percent of Montana households took four or more pleasure trips per month, 30 percent took 2-3 trips per month, and 19 percent took only 1 trip per month. July, August, and September represent the highest number of traveling households.
Thirty percent of Montana households participated in business travel during the 12-month study period. September, August, December, and February were the months with the greatest percent of business travel. Fourteen percent of Montana households took one business trip per month, and 6 percent took two business trips per month. Nine percent of Montana households took 3 or more business trips per month.
Sixteen percent of Montana households participated in "other" types of travel (travel for funerals, real estate hunting, etc.) during the 12-month study period. November and February illustrated the highest frequency of "other" trips throughout the year. If an "other" trip was taken, it was most likely that one trip (6%) or two trips (4%) were taken.
Seventy-three percent of all pleasure travel occurred in Montana while 27 percent of pleasure trips were to destinations outside Montana. Sixty percent of in-state travel (or 44 percent of all pleasure travel) occurred as day trips (no overnights) and 40 percent of in-state travel (or 29 percent of all pleasure travel) occurred as overnight trips.

The pleasure travel industry in Montana has a trade surplus of approximately $793 million when comparing the nonresident inflow of $1.5 billion to resident outflow of $707 million for pleasure travel.
Day trip travelers typically spent $20 for their pleasure trip. Montana overnight travelers spent $65 for pleasure travel in the state while Montanans traveling out of state spent $285 for pleasure trips.
Montana travelers taking pleasure trips to shop reported the highest median trip expenditure of all in-state groups regardless of length of trip. Day trip shoppers typically spent $185 on their trip and Montanans traveling overnight to shop spent $383 on their trip.
Montanans traveling out of state spent between $150 and $534 per pleasure trip, depending on their reason for traveling. Trips for sightseeing, rest or relaxation, combined reasons, or recreation resulted in the highest total trip expenditures for out-of-state trips.
Montanans take a total of 9.2 million pleasure trips annually. This translates into 4.05 million day pleasure trips, 2.67 million in-state overnight pleasure trips, and 2.48 million out-of-state pleasure trips annually.
Montana groups on day pleasure trips spend a total of $81 million annually while groups on overnight trips in Montana spend a total of $174 million annually. This totals $255 million spent in Montana by Montanans for pleasure travel. Montana groups traveling out of state spend a total of $707 million for pleasure travel annually.
Total spending by Montana residents for pleasure travel totals $962 million annually.
Montana resident pleasure travelers contribute $3.6 million to the State Lodging Facility Use Tax, which equates to 36% of the annual tax collections.
Montanans traveling overnight in state typically spent 2-3 nights away from home, while Montanans traveling out of state typically spent 7-9 nights away from home.
Summer months accounted for about 60 percent of all pleasure travel, regardless of destination or length of trip.
Visiting family/friends and rest & relaxation were the top two reasons for traveling for pleasure regardless of trip destination or length.
Washington and California were the top two out-of-state destinations for Montanans traveling for pleasure during the summer, fall, and winter. These were both surpassed by foreign countries other than Canada during the spring.
Most travel groups consisted of one or two adults from the respondents' household. If children or people from outside the household were included, there were generally 2 or fewer members.
Visiting historic, cultural, or interpretive centers, nature photography, and day hiking were popular activities among all groups.