Tourism Partner Resources
We have updated the Tourism Partner Resource page at MarketMT.com to include tourism related COVID-19 resources.
COVID-19 Special Presentation by the Destination Development Association (DDA)
Due to the unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19, the regularly scheduled Wednesday webinar series hosted by the Tourism Grant Program is postponed until we have better and brighter tourism industry related news to share.
However, special presentations by the DDA are available on YouTube which offer a few ideas for helping to mitigate the effects the pandemic is having on us: destination marketing organizations, downtown associations, downtown retail shops and eateries.
We want to make it perfectly clear that the DDA is not suggesting anything that would fly in the face of what local and national leadership is advocating or mandating. This is a fluid situation and there is no one size fits all solution. Presentation materials are available on the Tools & Resources section of the Tourism Grant Program page at MARKETMT.com.
Montana Tourism Awards
While the annual Governor's Conference on Tourism & Recreation has been rescheduled for April 18-20, 2021, the 2020 Montana Tourism Award winners will be announced in early May. Stay tuned as we honor the outstanding tourism work in Montana online.
Choose Local
Now, more than ever, it is important to encourage local, community support. Destination Missoula launched their #MoreMissoulaThanEver campaign to do just that. Check out their recent video below.
As we continue to practice social distancing, you can support your local Taste or Place establishments by ordering takeout or delivery. You can also purchase gift cards from your favorite retailer or shop directly from your favorite Made in Montana producer online. Visit MADEINMONTANAUSA.com to find Made in Montana producers and retailers near you.
Brand USA Provides Resources and an Important Message to Tourism Partners
COVID-19 has changed the way we conduct our businesses and our lives. Brand USA provides a platform for the U.S. travel and tourism industry to compete on a level playing field for international visitors and their spending. They have pioneered cooperative marketing platforms and programs that leverage and grow the USA brand in ways our partners would be challenged or unable to do on their own.
Brand USA is fortunate to have a funding model that insulates the resources entrusted to them by partners and the federal government from systemic shocks like this. In short, they are well-positioned to help you navigate these turbulent times and build the tools to enable you to quickly restart as soon as market conditions allow.
Brand USA is committed to three basic principles:
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Provide guidance, information, and insight
Brand USA will continue to provide current and relevant information to help partners keep track of the quickly changing travel environment and make crucial decisions about resources. Over 300 partners attended our research webinar on March 19 to engage with primary market data and learn more about our immediate-term plans. We will provide these types of insights on an ongoing basis and invite you to keep tuning in. In addition, many partners have found it useful to bookmark the central repository of coronavirus information, references, and marketing resources at TheBrandUSA.com/Coronavirus-Updates. Finally, we will continue to stay in frequent communication with you through our Partner Engagement team and any other means you need.
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Deliver hope and optimism to our partners and our industry
Though Brand USA has paused our paid media activities, we are strengthening our engagement with the travel trade and delivering a “Stay Home. Stay Inspired.” message to our followers on social media.
While so many of our travel trade partners around the world remain at home, Brand USA is keeping them engaged with educational and entertaining information. For example, our USA Discovery Program is localized in 11 countries and offered in 8 languages, and incentives are currently running in most markets with more launching on a regular basis. With over 40,000 active users all over the globe, they are completing certifications and badges at a record pace. We are also conducting virtual trainings of travel agents and tour operators in key source markets. In fact, during the week of March 23, Brand USA trained 1,259 agents over webinars in France, India, and Mexico.
To engage consumers on social media while they're home and looking for entertainment, we are delivering inspirational content with an empathetic and human tone. For example, we have launched a virtual road trip [thebrandusa.us6.list-manage.com] on Instagram Stories that allows our audience to explore the USA while home travel dreaming.
Over the next six weeks, as folks all over the world are looking for virtual escapes, we will also be launching a number of new video series on our streaming video network, GoUSA TV. You can download GoUSA TV now for free on your connected TV via Roku, Apple TV or Amazon Fire, or as a mobile app via iOS and Android.
To submit videos for consideration on the channel, email GoUSATV@TheBrandUSA.com or visit here for more details. You will be hearing more from your Partner Engagement representative about how to engage with GoUSA TV in the days ahead.
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Develop strategic, purpose-driven marketing programs to stimulate international travel Brand USA is using this pause in travel activity to build marketing tools to stimulate active consideration and travel bookings at the first indication conditions are appropriate. Our approach will be specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and time bound. I look forward to sharing more of these tools with you in the coming weeks and to working together to bring international visitors back to your communities.
International Wildlife Film Festival Will Be Online This Year
The International Wildlife Film Festival is one of the biggest film events of the year in Missoula, and for the last several years, it's been hosted by the Roxy Theater. The Roxy is still set to host... but of course, because of the Coronavirus-related closures, they can't exactly have crowds of people coming into the theater for a full week. Read more from 107.5 ZOO FM here.
Montana in the News Tourism Partner Shout-Outs, Recognition and News
Billings/Bozeman—'Montana Masks' Pop Up all Over the World, Move from 3D Printers to Injection Molds—The reusable plastic face masks designed for 3D printers by a college graduate and a pair of local medical professionals have gone global. The free open-source software file they created has been downloaded or shared in 148 countries across six continents.
Dubbed the Montana Mask, the design has now made the jump from 3D printers to injection mold production, crafted by the Bozeman company Spark R&D.
That move allows for much faster mass production and gives the masks a more comfortable feel. Injection mold production can use materials that are softer and more flexible than the plastic required by 3D printers.
The story gained national attention and last week a past employee of Spark R&D reached out to the company's owner, Will Ritter, on Facebook asking if there was something Spark could do in its production shop. Read more from the Billings Gazette here.
Self-Responding to the 2020 Census is More Important than Ever for Montana
All Montanans can now fill out their 2020 Census online, by phone or by mail – even without receiving an official invitation to participate. The 2020 Census is available to fill out now online at my2020census.gov, by phone at 1.844.330.2020, or via mail if a household has received a paper questionnaire.
With the U.S. Census Bureau suspending all field operations across the nation due to COVID-19, it is critical that Montanans self-respond to the 2020 Census questionnaire, even if the household has not received their 12-digit Census ID code.
In Montana, more than 35 percent of homes do not receive mail at a traditional household address, which leaves many Montanans at risk of being undercounted because the U.S. Census Bureau does not mail to post office boxes or rural route addresses. The U.S. Census Bureau will not be in contact with these households until they restart their door-to-door operations. This means a large portion of Montana will not receive U.S. Census Bureau communication or reminders to fill out their form until much later than planned.
Montanans who have not received their Census ID can simply start the online questionnaire and then select the option “If you do not have a Census ID, click here” or call in their response. This option will ask one additional question about where a respondent will be on April 1, 2020 and then participants will be able to fill out the remainder of their form.
The live self-response rate map, which the U.S. Census Bureau updates daily, shows Montana as one of the states with the lowest self-response rates. This is due in-part to the large share of P.O. boxes and rural route addresses in Montana.
Counting everyone in Montana is critical because it determines the state’s share of federal funding over the next decade, it shapes local voting districts, and it determines whether Montana will get another representative in Congress.
Montana receives an estimated $2 billion in federal funds each year based on Census data. For every Montana resident counted, a Census study estimates the state will receive $20,000 over the decade for things like schools, healthcare and highways.
Learn more at CENSUS.MT.GOV.
REAL ID Deadline Extension
The deadline for obtaining a voluntary REAL ID is being postponed due to COVID-19. The new deadline will be October 1, 2021.
September 14-16, 2020—The 2020 Business of Outdoor Recreation Summit (Great Falls)—Led by the Montana Office of Outdoor Recreation and co-hosted by the Crown of the Continent Geotourism Council and Montana Trails Coalition, this summit is an enhanced follow-up to the 2018 inaugural full Business of Outdoor Recreation Summit.
October 4-6, 2020—Northwest USA Spotlight Tourism Conference (Helena)—Previously scheduled for May, this tourism conference which is attended by qualified tour operators and suppliers, has been rescheduled for October 4-6, 2020. For more information, click here.
October 6-8, 2020—The 2020 NAISMA Annual Conference is the organization’s 27th Annual Conference (Whitefish)—Co-Sponsored with the Montana Invasive Species Council, the conference will include field trips to visit Glacier National Park, Flathead Lake, and surrounding natural areas. Concurrent sessions will present new techniques and technologies, standards, climate change impacts and adaptation strategies, biocontrol updates, forest pests, feral hogs, new invasive species on the horizon, aquatic invasive species management, education and awareness brands, Cooperative Weed Management Area successes, cross-jurisdictional strategies, and much more. To learn more, click here.
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