BrandMT shifts toward tourism development under SB 540; department reports new grants and Rural pilot program

Deputy Director Mandy Rambo and BrandMT Chief Marketing Officer Mitch Staley told the appropriations subcommittee that Senate Bill 540 restructured how Montana deploys lodging/facility tax revenue and shifted BrandMTfrom a promotion-only posture toward tourism development and management focused on rural and under-visited areas.

Rambo summarized the legislative change and the division's implementation steps: defining "rural" and "under-visited" areas with industry stakeholders; creating seven new programs and administrative rules; and launching a strategic plan to direct funds toward community-led projects. She said more than 50% of lodging-facility use dollars go back to Montana communities in grants and that BrandMT spends under 20% of its bed-tax allocation on marketing.

BrandMT described several new and adapted programs created under SB 540, including a pilot community tourism grant program to support a set of pilot communities (one per tourism region plus a tribal community). Rambo said each pilot community will receive a multi-year investment totaling $2.75 million but did not provide a committee-verified year-by-year disbursement schedule during the hearing. Other grant programs discussed included destination event grants (phased eligibility to encourage self-sufficiency), a regional assistance grant for smaller CVBs and tourism regions, a new agritourism grant that awarded 14 projects for over $300,000, and a tourism development and enhancement revolving loan fund that initially capitalized $24 million and is administered by local economic development organizations.

Staley outlined the marketing strategy BrandMT uses to target a drive-market radius and to promote rural destinations to both nonresident and resident travelers. He said the marketing work is intended to disperse visitation away from congested hot spots such as Glacier and Yellowstone and to support economic activity in places less visited. BrandMT presented vendor-sourced data that, in an earlier season, suggested every dollar spent on the department's marketing returned an estimated $68 in economic activity to Montana; the department said preliminary numbers for the most recent season performed even better but did not provide full verification at the hearing.

Committee members pressed for more detail about short-term rental inclusion in lodging-tax collections and whether in-state tourism growth could explain increased bed-tax receipts. Rambo said short-term rental platforms' reporting to the lodging tax had expanded the tax base and that hotel/short-term rental price increases also contributed to higher revenues; she offered to seek a more detailed breakdown from the Department of Revenue. Lawmakers also asked about the tourism "Yellowstone bump"; Staley and Rambo said BrandMT is shifting messaging to reflect resident sentiment and to promote areas outside the well-known destinations.

The committee requested follow-up materials, including the interactive map of under-visited/rural areas, details of program awards and measures of marketing impact. No votes were taken.