About

Tourism Matters to Montana is a group of regional and community destination organizations dedicated to promoting our areas as travel destinations and managing the visitor on the ground in a way that balances resident quality of life with visitor quality of experience while still providing vital economic value to our communities. Our efforts directly contribute to the travel and tourism industry and help make it one of the top two industries in Montana. The travel economy is critical to the financial and social economic vitality of this great place we call home.

Tourism Matters to Montana is made up of 27 destination marketing/management/stewardship 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
• Columbia Falls Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor's Bureau
• Destination Missoula, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, TBID
• Dillon Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
• Discover Anaconda
• Explore Whitefish, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
• Gardiner Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau,
• Western Montana's Glacier Country
• Glendive Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
• Great Falls Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, TBID
• Havre Area Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
• Helena Area Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
• Kalispell Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, TBID
• Livingston Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, TBID
• Miles City Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, TBID
• Missouri River Country
• Montana's Yellowstone Country
• Red Lodge Area Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, TBID
• Sidney Area Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
• Southwest Montana
• Visit Big Sky, Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
• Visit Billings, Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor's Bureau, TBID
• Visit Southeast Montana
• Visit West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, TBID

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

• Destination Missoula
• Explore Livingston
• Explore Whitefish
• Montana's Yellowstone Country
• Southwest Montana
• Visit Billings
• Visit Southeast Montana
• Visit West Yellowstone
• Western Montana's Glacier Country

Montana Accommodations Taxes as of August 2022

The State of Montana imposes two different tax rates on room charges from lodging facilities and campgrounds: a 4% Lodging Sales and Use Tax (Montana Code Annotated 2023 - Title 15, Chapter 68) and a 4% Lodging Facility Use Tax (Montana Code Annotated 2023 - Title 15, Chapter 65).

The taxes only apply for rooms used for lodging which includes hotels, motels, campgrounds, 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. The Sales and Use Tax also applies to base rental charge for rental vehicles.

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.