About

Tourism Matters to Montana is a group of regional and community organizations dedicated to promoting our areas as travel destinations. We work cooperatively with public and private partners to market Montana both domestically and internationally. Our efforts directly contribute to the travel and tourism industry and help make it one of the top two industries in Montana. Tourism is critical to the financial and social economic vitality of this great place we call home.

Tourism Matters to Montana is made up of 24 destination marketing/management organizations across Montana including Regions, Convention and Visitor Bureaus (CVB) and Tourism Business Improvement Districts (TBID).

• Belgrade Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, TBID
• Bozeman Area Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, TBID
• Butte Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, TBID
• Central Montana
• Destination Missoula, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, TBID
• Dillon Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
• Explore Whitefish, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
• Gardiner Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, TBID
• Glacier Country Tourism
• Glendive Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
• Great Falls Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, TBID
• Havre Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, TBID
• Helena Area Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
• Kalispell Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, TBID
• Livingston Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
• Miles City Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, TBID
• Missouri River Country
• Red Lodge Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, TBID
• Southwest Montana
• Visit Big Sky, Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
• Visit Billings
• Visit Southeast Montana
• Visit West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, TBID
• Yellowstone Country

This effort is funded by private/non bed tax funds from the following organizations:

• Destination Missoula
• Explore Whitefish
• Glacier Country Tourism
• Miles City Chamber of Commerce
• Southwest Montana
• Visit Big Sky
• Visit Billings
• Visit Southeast Montana
• Visit West Yellowstone

Montana Accommodations Taxes as of August 2020

The State of Montana imposes two different tax rates on room charges from lodging facilities and campgrounds: a 4% lodging sales tax and a 4% lodging facility use tax.

The taxes are applied to any rooms or facilities used for overnight lodging to the public for compensation including hotels, motels, campgrounds (including public campgrounds such as Bureau
of Land Management (BLM) or Forest Service, for example), resorts, dormitories, condominium inns, dude ranches, guest ranches, hostels, public lodging houses, bed and breakfast facilities, and vacation rentals such as airbnb’s. Facilities exempt from these taxes are health care facilities, facilities owned by nonprofit corporations for use by youth for camping, facilities whose average daily charge is less than 60% of the amount the state of Montana reimburses for lodging, and facilities rented for 30 days or more.

Revenues generated from these taxes provide a substantial amount of funding to the state general fund, as well as many state special revenue funds. Revenue distributions by tax are outlined in more
detail from this link.

Tourism Matters to Montana operates as a committee of Glacier Country Regional Tourism Commission, a 501c(6) nonprofit organization.