Don't Add Fuel to the Fire

WILDLAND FIRE + SMOKE MESSAGING

Communicating Effectively for a Positive Visitor Experience and Strong Travel and Tourism Economy for Montana Businesses

Extinguish fear with positive messaging. Let’s keep our social media communications in check and send the right signal for all of Montana.

When communicating about wildland fire and smoke conditions in the region, it is vital that we all do our part to send positive, factual, reassuring and helpful messaging. A disruptive or dramatic response can have widespread, lasting effects. When travelers change plans needlessly, their visitor experience isn’t the only thing that suffers—the effects can be detrimental to Montana’s tourism and main street small business economy. 

The photo on the left may indeed be of a fire currently happening in Montana, but the implication of that image is that our entire state looks like that, which is simply not the case. For a potential visitor to Montana, seeing a photo that implies danger may result in a rerouted or canceled visit.

Tourism is the second-largest industry in the state of Montana, and the bottom line is impulsive sharing of exaggerated information hurts our economy. And it hurts our neighbors and small businesses who depend on tourism dollars to stay afloat.

Montana is a big place with millions of acres to enjoy. Let’s make sure we keep that top of mind when communicating about wildland fires in the region.

Reduced Visitors and Visitor Nights from Wildland Fire and Smoke in 2017

Businesses throughout the fire affected regions of Montana indicated they felt a substantial loss in business during the summer of 2017. The losses accrue through two main mechanisms: 1) Visitors cancel all or some of their trips to Montana, or 2) Visitors may shorten their length of stay.

Of those individuals who did not travel to Montana during the summer of 2017 9% indicated they had planned to visit the state but canceled due to the smoke or fire in their planned visiting area. Because of the increased activity of wildland fire and smoke in Western Montana, canceled trips were nearly twice as likely to have occurred in the region known as Glacier Country as opposed to any other travel region. Within Glacier Country, most cancelled trips occurred in Flathead and Missoula counties.

Montana lost roughly 800,000 visitors in the third quarter of 2017. This loss results in a loss of $240.5 million in visitor spending, or 12.4% for the quarter. This loss translates to a 6.8% loss in expected annual spending that year.

The Montana Expression 2017: 2017’s Costly Fire Season; University of Montana Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research

Wildland Fire/Smoke Communication Efforts

Western Montana's Glacier Country, Explore Whitefish, Discover Kalispell and Destination Missoula participate in consumer wildland fire/smoke messaging in three categories: preventive, during and recovery. This collaborative Glacier Country Communication Team (GCCT) has created strategy and efforts for each:

• Preventive - Share with consumers how they can have a safe and fun trip around Western Montana. Remind them there are things they can do to prevent a wildland fire and that fires will likely not impact their trip if they are diligent in following the rules. Share with industry partners resources available so they are aware before an emergency occurs.
• During - Direct consumers towards available partner resources for information. We do not want to have a "Western Montana is closed" message. We will provide relevant content and resources through communication with DMO partner-owned channels including information on areas open and activity options for visitors to enjoy.
• Recovery - Promote communities impacted by fires, communicating that they are open for business, and share current photos to promote visitation. 

Do's and Don'ts When Communicating with Visitors + Online Reference Content Quick Reference Sheet