Be a Tourism Industry Champion

Lodging tax dollars allow Montana to have a presence amongst travelers who have many options when it comes to selecting a vacation destination. Despite its proven return, tourism promotion continues to be underestimated by some of our elected state leaders. That’s why it’s up to us to communicate tourism’s value in order to elevate its recognition, respect and support in Montana. We have an opportunity to come together as champions of this industry to ensure that tourism continues to thrive.

Engage Your Local Legislative Representatives

As constituents, you can be the best source of information and education about the importance of tourism. Ideas for engaging candidates include:

• Contact candidates with a call, e-mail or handwritten letter sharing the reasons why tourism matters to you and your community. Or, schedule an in-person meeting. Utilize the downloadable fact sheets on this page for current industry facts, and print copies to include with your candidate correspondence. Also take advantage of the available tourism industry research gathered on our research page.
• Utilize the power of social networking. Individuals all across the world have used social networks to effect positive change. If you use Twitter, Facebook or other social networks, take the opportunity to engage candidates and lawmakers who also use these tools.

Our goal is to develop and maintain positive relationships with our state leaders. Slash and burn rarely works. We are very fortunate to have a strong reputation as an important industry, and as industry members we can wear that badge proudly.

Finding Your District:
There are two ways to determine your district: view the state legislative district map or plug your zip code into the Project Vote Smart locator found at the upper righthand side of their homepage. Project Vote Smart is a non-partisan, non-profit organization based in Montana that collects and shares data on elected officials nationwide. Search for a legislator or other elected representative by zip code — if there are multiple districts in your zip code, then you will be prompted to enter your nine-digit zip code or full address.

Contacting Lawmakers in Your District:
Once you know your district, you can look up legislators on the Montana Legislature website. The listings include lawmakers’ phone numbers, mailing addresses and e-mail addresses.

Stay Engaged with Voices of Montana Tourism

Our objective is to actively create greater awareness for tourism’s important role in Montana. As the 2013 legislative session unfolds we will keep industry members and supporters informed about what can be done to help sustain the health of Montana tourism. Please sign up for our newsletters, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook to stay in the loop.