With hopes of showcasing central and eastern Montana, the Montana Office of Tourism recently launched its Montana’s High Plains campaign. Initially targeting drive traffic from within Montana and neighboring North Dakota, it is planning to expand into other surrounding states and regional markets.
The campaign is focused on budget travelers looking for a three-day getaway or who simply want to stay closer to home.
“Historically, when competing for tourism dollars against other states, we have generally defaulted to western Montana, as destinations like Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks are our best known, easiest sell ‘icons’ to first-time visitors. At a national and international level, this strategy continues to be our strongest pitch. However, we realize we have an amazing resource for travelers to the eastern part of our state and have developed a multi-tiered campaign to grow this opportunity,” said consumer marketing manager Katy Peterson.
Betsy Baumgart, administrator for the Montana Office of Tourism, said focusing more attention on Montana, east of the Rocky Mountain Front will eventually lead to an expansion in Montana’s tourism.
“In assessing the best long-term plan for promoting Montana, research shows that we will be best served by increasing the scope of our promotional efforts to tell our entire state’s story. While first-time visitors will still most likely key in on our national parks and surroundings, repeat visitors and regional travelers offer a healthy tourism opportunity for Montana’s High Plains.”
Their Web site, www.montanahighplains.com, defines three nationally recognized, iconic areas of Montana’s High Plains — the Missouri River Breaks National Monument, the C.M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge and the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area.
