Our Destination Stewardship Plan is the blueprint for Western Montana's visitor economy—a community-driven vision that balances economic vitality with quality of life, guides responsible visitation and ensures the benefits of the visitor economy reach the people who call this region home.
Developed in collaboration with community leaders, residents, industry partners and stakeholders across all eight counties, this plan represents a fundamental shift in how we approach our work. It defines our role as stewards and leaders, not just marketers—focusing on shaping demand, dispersing visitors, advocating for communities and building partnerships that strengthen this region.
The plan is built on five strategic pillars:
This isn't a static document—it's a living commitment to ongoing dialogue, evolving priorities and collaborative action that benefits Western Montana for generations to come.
In 2021, we launched a year-long planning process to balance visitor growth with the long-term health and vibrancy of Western Montana's communities and quality of life for residents. While destinations across the globe were seeing significant drops in visitation during the COVID pandemic, Glacier Country continued to see record-breaking numbers of visitors. This surge put pressure on infrastructure, amplified workforce challenges and created negative resident sentiment toward the visitor economy.
It was clear we needed a new approach—a shift from promoting communities to engaging and stewarding them.
We partnered with MMGY NextFactor and Better Destinations to guide this community-driven process. A steering committee of leaders from across the region shaped the plan's development:
The result is the Destination Stewardship Plan that guides our work today.