CONTACT: Victor Bjornberg

Montana Promotion Division

406-841-2795

Eureka/Tobacco Valley, Sanders County, St. Ignatius

Selected For Montana’s 2002/2003 Community Tourism Assessment Program

Helena, MT - September 18, 2002 - The communities of Eureka/Tobacco Valley, Sanders County, and St. Ignatius have been selected to participate in a 9-month long assessment process designed to help Montana communities determine how tourism can help diversify and expand their area economy. The tourism assessment program is offered to communities through the Montana Commerce Department’s Promotion Division, MSU Extension and the University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research (ITRR).

“Twenty-six communities around the state have used this program to better understand the role tourism plays in the economic vitality of their area,” said Mark Simonich, Director, Montana Commerce Department. “Eureka, Sanders County and St. Ignatius have the opportunity to develop plans and projects that can help local businesses and create new jobs.”

The Montana Community Tourism Assessment Program (CTAP) is a community "self help" program developed to assist communities identify what role, if any, tourism can play in strengthening local economies. The Montana Commerce Department’s Promotion Division and MSU Extension provide the process facilitators while the ITRR provides research services.

Through CTAP, a community follows a 9-month process of analysis, assessment, and evaluation. The process begins with a detailed program introduction and community organization. For Eureka, Sanders County, and St. Ignatius the initial CTAP meeting will take place in October. The process continues with a comprehensive analysis of the community's current economic structure, its assets, resident attitudes toward tourism, area lifestyles, marketing, and the community's existing and potential tourism resources.

After the initial analysis, the community and its assessment partners identify potential tourism products that can be developed in the area. They then determine the social,

economic and environmental impacts, positive and negative, that are expected to result

from this product development. Once the analysis and assessments are completed, the community determines what tourism‑related projects, if any, should be pursued.

Tourism is one of Montana’s leading basic industries. In 2001, more than 9.55 million people visited Montana. Annual visitor expenditures have been about $1.7 billion, creating a benefit of over $3 billion for the Montana economy. Montana’s tourism industry has an annual payroll of $433 million and directly involves 28,000 Montana jobs.

The contacts for the 2002/2003 CTAP communities are:

Eureka: Kim Laub, Executive Director

Eureka Rural Development Partners, Inc,

Box 1951, Eureka, MT 59917

Phone 297-7374, FAX: 297-7794,

Email: klaub@eurekardp.net

Sanders County: Steve Simonson, Executive Director,

Sanders County Community Development Corporation

Box 1326

Thompson Falls, MT 59873

Phone 827-6935, FAX 827-4388,

Email: simonson@ronan.net

St. Ignatius: Randy Trudeau

312 N. Main Street

St. Ignatius, MT 59865

Phone 745-4842, FAX 745-3080

Since the CTAP process was created in 1991, 26 Montana communities have participated in it. The CTAP graduates include:

· 1991-1993 CTAP Pilot Project Community: Choteau

· 1994-1995 CTAP Communities: Glendive, Lewistown, Libby

· 1995-1996 CTAP Communities: Bitterroot Valley/Hamilton, Fort Belknap, Three Forks

· 1996-1997 CTAP Communities: Deer Lodge, Glacier County/Blackfeet Nation, Livingston, Northern Cheyenne Tribe

· 1997-1998 CTAP Communities: Broadus, Havre, Laurel

· 1998-1999 CTAP Communities: Anaconda/Deer Lodge County, Dillon, Hardin

· 1999-2000 CTAP Communities: Glasgow, Red Lodge, Whitehall

· 2000-2001 CTAP Communities: Fort Peck Reservation, Miles City, Pondera County

· 2001-2002 CTAP Communities: Kalispell, Malta, White Sulphur Springs

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