Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1461153
21 Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce www.greatfallschamber.org Tourism A T O U R I S M fter years of planning, Great Falls finally played host to the BMW Motorcycle Owners Association's 2021 Rally in June! 4,889 riders arrived from all corners of the United States and made Montana ExpoPark their basecamp for three days while they rode all around Central Montana and beyond. Great Falls also hosted the Montana State Fair, Montana High School Association All-State Music Festival, Montana Music Educators Association Annual Conference, and Montana Federation of Public Employees Annual Educators Conference. The East entrances to Glacier National Park opened in 2021 alongside a ticketed reservation system for entry to Going to the Sun Road. Confusion over the system and the congestion in the more popular West entrance to the park caused some traveler distress. Improvements to the reservation system for 2022 and continued education will aid in a more positive travel experience for visitors. Room demand in the third quarter of 2021 is on par with (and slightly ahead of, by 0.18%) Q3 2019.The reopening of the land border with Canada on November 8th 2021 to fully vaccinated leisure travelers was a great step towards rebuilding as is the opening of Montana's newest entertainment venue, The Newberry, in downtown Great Falls. The national meeting industry still struggles and hybrid meet- ings continue to be a standard offering. Requests for proposals are just now starting to come our way again. Great Falls will play host to the Western Writers of America Annual Conference in June of 2022, with expected attendance from author C.J. Box, the creator of The Highway series of books that the new televi- sion show Big Sky is based on. Even with some great success in 2021, the Tourism economy in Great Falls continues to work its way through recovery. I am optimistic about 2022 as Montana PRCA Circuit Finals Rodeo returns in January and Western Art Week comes back in March. The Tourism Team continues to recruit leisure travelers and conventions into Great Falls, Montana and share all about our community through Montana's #1 podcast, We're No Dam Ex- perts. Now is the time to invite your friends and family to listen to our podcast and come take a hike in the wide open spaces of Montana's Basecamp for Art & Adventure! Photo by Chance Benedict Rebecca Engum, Director Great Falls Montana Tourism