We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
The Chinook Area Chamber’s annual banquet will be held on Saturday, January 23rd at the Eagles Club. Gayle Fisher, Executive Director of the Central Montana Tourism Region, will be the speaker. Fisher is no stranger to the area having grown up in Chinook and graduated from CHS. The annual Chamber event is a time to review the past year, look at the coming year and install newly elected officers.
Fisher will be the featured speaker. She’s been working various positions in tourism for about 25 years. She was selected as the “2001 Tourism Person of the Year” for the state of Montana. Of the award she said, “It was an honor for getting to do a job I love.” Fisher directs the Central Montana Tourism Region, a 13 county area that includes Blaine County. The Central Montana region is one of six tourism regions in the state that promotes Montana as both a destination for out of state visitors and encourages residents to enjoy ‘the last best place.’ The tourism regional office is in Great Falls.
Describing her presentation for the Chamber event Fisher said, “I will be giving an overview of Montana’s statewide tourism programs, focusing on our Central Montana region efforts and drilling down to what folks in Blaine County can do to promote tourism. I think it’s important to show the economic impact of tourism at the local level and how everyone is a part of how tourists are welcomed.”
For a number of years Montana tourism folks have been ‘branding’ the state. The new generation of tourists is looking not just for ‘touristy’ places to visit, but to get involved with the culture and history of a place, and do adventurous things. Montana is an ideal destination for these new tourists and the state’s hospitality industry has responded by advertising toward these new ‘geotourists.’ It’s taken a while but the dividends are being felt. In a study of tourism a U of M group found that in 2014 eleven million non-resident tourists visited Montana, spending $3.98 billion while enjoying Montana. Non-resident travel produces 7.3 percent of the state’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The Chamber banquet has no cost to members, the banquet cost for members is covered by their membership fee. Others are welcome to attend for a cost of $15 per person. You can make a reservation by calling Shannon Nissen at 406-357-8757 as soon as possible. Or, you can make a reservation online by going to info@chinookmontana.com. More information with a list of Chamber members, description of programs and local leadership by going to http://www.chinookmontana.com.
Come learn about what is going on in our state, region and county to promote tourism. A no host cocktail hour begins at 6pm with the dinner and program to follow at 7pm. Reservations are requested for meal planning.
