Travel and Recreation Outlook 2001

1
Travel and Recreation Outlook 2001

• Thale Dillon, Economic Research Associate
• Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research
• The University of Montana

2
Travel Indicators

• U.S. economic conditions drive travel in terms of
  amount of travel, type of travel, and travel
  destinations.
• Worldwide economic conditions help determine
  travel destinations in terms of national vs.
  international travel.

3
Economic Influences in 2000

• Low unemployment (3.9)
• Active stock market
• Strong consumer confidence
• Increased disposable income
• Increased personal consumption
• Declining levels of personal saving
• Low levels of inflation

4
Other Influences in 2000

• Y2K scare
• High oil and gas prices
• Montana forest fires
• Early winter storms

5
Montana Travel in 2000

• Montana highway traffic up 1 overall
• Montana airport traffic up 3
• Hotel/motel occupancy rates up 1
• Nonresident visitation exceeded 9.3 million
• Visitor spending totaled 1.64 billion
• Generated close to 26,000 jobs
• Generated 494 million in personal income

6

• Montana skier visits reached an all time high of
  1.18 million in the 99-00 season, up 5 from the
  98-99 season.
• Yellowstone National Park visitation totaled 2.84
  million in 2000, down 9 from the previous year.
• Glacier National park visitation totaled 1.73
  million in 2000, up 3 from 1999.

7
Montana Outlook 2001

• Last year we predicted a 2 increase in
  nonresident visitation, but preliminary data
  indicates
• no increase
• Our prediction for 2001 is an increase in
  visitation of 2-3

8
2001 Forecast

• Economy slow-down
• Rising inflation
• Stock market on a downward trend
• Decreasing confidence, decreasing consumer
  spending
• Increasing Canadian visitation
• Lewis and Clark Bicentennial events
• Improving air connections
• Gas prices

9
Travel Trends

• In Montana, we expect to see visitation continue
  to spread to less-visited parts of the state.

10
U.S. Online TravelPopulation

• 61 of U.S. travelers are online, compared to 50
  of U.S. adults.
• 199627 million online travelers
• 200090 million online travelers

Source Travel Industry Association of America
11
Online Bookings
Source Travel Industry Association of America
12
Online Travel Planning
Source Travel Industry Association of America
13
Online Purchases in 2000
Of all online travel bookers
Based on 24.7 million online travel bookers
Source Travel Industry Association of America
14
Online Travel Planning
Source Travel Industry Association of America
15
Travel Montana Inquiries
Travel Montana launched its web site,
www.visitmt.com, in 1996.
Source Travel Montana
16
Travel Montana User Sessions
Source Travel Montana
17
Thank You!Thale DillonInstitute for Tourism
and Recreation ResearchUniversity of
Montanawww.forestry.umt.edu/itrr