Western Montana's Glacier Country promotes visitation to Western Montana with a multifaceted approach to marketing including print, digital, social, email and call center. Western Montana's Glacier Country participates in a variety of advertising efforts that include digital and social advertising, placing ads in key print publications and participating in advertising co-ops with our partners, such as Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development. We run ads on websites and publications all over the world.
Our website, glaciermt.com, has more than 1.8 million unique visitors each year, a number that has doubled in the last five years. With the demand for readily available information, Western Montana's Glacier Country has a mobile site designed specifically for on-the-go travelers with smartphones.
Each year, we produce 150,000 copies of our glossy, full-color Glacier Country Travel Guide with an estimated readership of 500,000. In addition, the online version of the guide receives more than 80,000 views annually.
Our tourism sales program focuses on business-to-business relationships by actively marketing Western Montana’s Glacier Country to domestic group tour operators, international (FIT) free independent travel operators and meeting planners in the meetings and convention markets. The program also addresses requests for destination weddings and reunions. Western Montana's Glacier Country is represented at a multitude of trade shows throughout the year and relationships are fostered with professionals around the world interested in bringing visitors to Western Montana. Trade show leads are posted and can be viewed and downloaded at partners.glaciermt.com/business-to-business-leads-group-tour-international-meetings-and-conventions.
Our public relations and earned media program focuses on promoting Western Montana’s Glacier Country as a travel destination through earned media. We build relationships with journalists and influencers at conferences and media events, and hosts events in regionally and demographically targeted cities. We also work with influencers creating itineraries and experiences in Western Montana, representative of what the area has to offer and the interests of the influencers’ audience.
Western Montana's Glacier Country has long supported community-based visitor information centers (VICs) with training and financial assistance. Studies show community-based VICs are more likely to be used by first-time visitors traveling to an area. Visitors who use VICs spend more time in the community and are more likely to stay longer and experience more of what that community has to offer. Visitors engage with travel counselors, use informational materials and are more likely to change trip plans based on the information obtained. VICs do a great job in terms of influencing visitors—helping them learn about what there is to see and do in Glacier Country communities. Western Montana's Glacier Country provides a Visitor Information Center Staffing Assistance Grant for qualifying organizations. Grant program has a limited window for applications.
The Glacier Country Cooperative Marketing Project Match Program (GCMPMP) is designed to provide matching expense reimbursement funding for projects to promote an area or event on a cooperative basis with a nonprofit tourism-related organization. The intent of this program is to encourage the development of new or expanded marketing projects, thereby increasing the tourism appeal of the city or region to nonresident visitors.
For questions, please contact our office at 406.532.3234 or 800.338.5072.
The Community Event Marketing Assistance Program is a program intended to assist communities within the Glacier Country region to promote out-of-area attendance and increase non-resident visitor commerce and community revenue. This program is for either 1) existing events that have been consistently held in a community and have a demonstrated history of economic impact for that community or for 2) new events that can demonstrate through the submission process the event will generate outside revenue coming into the community. This is a one-year pilot program with two event packages per month awarded worth $1,200. Submissions are considered, reviewed and awarded in an on-going basis until 24 events are awarded. This program is paid for and managed by Western Montana's Glacier Country with the ability of successful applicants to contribute additional funds to the campaign.
For questions, please contact our office at 406.532.3234 or 800.338.5072.
The staff at Western Montana's Glacier Country made me feel included from the first time I met them. Membership has provided me with great networking and educational opportunities that have positively benefitted my community and my business. I am very grateful for their expertise.