The Whitefish Moose Lodge was fully booked for the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce Business Breakfast on April 24th.
Glacier National Park Superintendent Dave Romer, Explore Whitefish Executive Director Julie Mullins, and Glacier Park International Airport Director Rob Rutkowski spoke about the tourism outlook for next summer.
Mullins said spending was down 7% in Whitefish last year. Visitor spending accounted for 57% of spending at all purchase points in the city.
Looking ahead, Whitefish summer bookings are 10-15% behind this time last year. At this time last year, Whitefish's occupancy was about 75% compared to the previous year's pandemic surge.
“The supply of short-term rentals far exceeds the demand,” Mullins added.
Despite reported and predicted declines in bookings and spending, Latkowski said 2023 will be a strong year for air travel to the region, with an 8.5% increase in the number of flights and off-season traffic. He said the volume has also increased.
The airport's main focus this year includes the next steps in the terminal expansion project. The ticketing lobby and baggage claim area will reopen on May 22nd, and the public center core will open in May 2025.
Other airport outlooks include slower growth, continued challenges with fuel and crew costs, and the addition of connections to Santa Rosa and Sonoma in California.
Romer spoke about Glacier National Park and said new changes to the reservation system will improve accessibility.
This includes increasing the likelihood of getting a reservation the day before the visit, he said. Approximately 70% of Going to the Sun Road's bookings are saved as day-ahead bookings during shoulder season and approximately 40% during peak season.
Regarding the recent debate over tourism management, Mullins said, “When communities lose their voice in managing ourselves and our stories, we lose credibility.”
“If we don't manage ourselves, someone else will,” she concluded.