Travel Suppliers Reward Happy Camper

Oct 07, 2008

Travel Montana, along with Glacier Park Inc., a 3 Parks partner, recently awarded a trip to Glacier National Park to one “very ecstatic” visitor. The trip, sponsored through the 3 Parks partnership, included three days of lodging and activities for four. Rob Chandler, of Sunnyside, Wash., who had the option of choosing Glacier, Grand Teton or Yellowstone National Park in his online entry, chose to visit Glacier, and when making travel arrangements, decided to use Amtrak for its ease and availability.

The 3 Parks partnership is composed of the Montana and Wyoming tourism offices and the national park concessionaires of Glacier Park Inc., Grand Teton Lodge Company and Xanterra Parks and Resorts. The goal of the partnership, according to Katy Peterson, consumer marketing manager for Travel Montana, is to “promote the three parks found in our two states as one great vacation. Combining our resources allows us to reach more people who may not realize how relatively close the parks truly are and have them stay and play in these wonderful areas we call home.”

This past July, Chandler and his wife enjoyed the charm of Glacier Park Lodge, a “phenomenal” full-day red bus tour, horseback ride and boat tour, compliments of Glacier Park Inc. and Travel Montana.

“When Rob had heard he was coming to Montana, he immediately checked into the availability of Amtrak from his home state to Glacier, remembering he had once traveled from Spokane to Chicago,” said Susan Buhr, Travel Montana’s marketing assistant who assisted with arranging the trip. “He was concerned about gas prices and had fond memories of the trip, so he purchased roundtrip tickets.”

Chandler later reported he thoroughly enjoyed the scenery, food and hospitality that Amtrak and Glacier National Park offered.

In conjunction with Chandler’s travel, Amtrak recently announced that for July 2008, total ridership for the rail line increased 14 percent, to nearly 2.7 million passengers over the previous year’s passenger numbers. This marks the most passengers carried in any single month in the company’s 37 years of operation, according to Amtrak officials. This equates to an increase of 18.6 percent or $168 million generated in ticket revenue for the same period over last year.