Montana Tourist Season: Bigger Crowds, Less Cash

Tourist season might as well be Montana’s favorite season — not because locals love the traffic or crowded restaurants, but because it’s when many folks here make the bulk of their income to survive the rest of the year. It’s a love-hate thing. More people, more chaos… and your average Montanan isn’t exactly built for that.

According to the University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research (ITRR), out-of-state visitors spent around $5 billion while traveling in Montana during 2024. That’s a big number — but how does it stack up to the year before? Not great.

Since 2009, the ITRR has been tracking tourism trends, and they don’t mess around. In 2024 alone, they had 11 surveyors send out nearly 22,000 surveys at airports, rest areas, and gas stations across the state.

So, what’s the issue? It’s not the number of tourists — in fact, Montana hit a record with about 13.8 million non-residents visiting last year.

The problem is how much they’re spending. Even with more visitors, overall spending was down about 10% compared to 2023. Blame it on lingering economic pressure, tighter budgets, or rising costs — either way, more people doesn’t necessarily mean more money in local pockets.

All that tourist cash in 2024 supported about 38,240 jobs — that’s roughly 1 in every 15 jobs in Montana. The year before, tourism helped support 48,340 jobs, so we’re definitely feeling the dip. On the bright side, visitors generated over $308 million in state and local taxes, which helped lower the average Montana resident’s tax bill by about $680. Not bad for letting a few extra folks crowd the trails for a few months.

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Tourist season may drive us a little crazy, but it keeps the wheels turning in this state. So next time you’re stuck behind an out-of-state plate — just remember, they’re probably helping pay your pesky taxes.