Visitor bureau to move to Bigfork

Despite rumors to the contrary, the Flathead Convention and Visitor Bureau is here to stay, but with some changes.

"We're going to continue to run the organization," board president Marti Kurth said. "We're regrouping and doing some strategic planning. We've got all the pieces in place"

Some businesses, particularly a group of Bigfork hoteliers, have been concerned about the bureau's future in light of the new Tourism Business Improvement District in Kalispell, which the city council approved Monday night. The bureau has been promoting the Flathead Valley for more than 20 years.

Historically, the Kalispell City Council has given the bed tax funds distributed by the state to the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce and the chamber has given it to the bureau to manage and market the "Montana's Flathead Valley" branding, Kurth said.

That's no longer the case, now that the district was approved, which allows the city to raise additional money for its own marketing and promotion, Kurth said.

The district has to be under a bureau, however, by Montana law, so the Kalispell chamber will serve that function.

About 10 years ago, Whitefish also broke off and formed its own bureau and kept its bed tax funds.

But rural Flathead Valley still has needs for the cohesive and collaborative marketing of the region, said Bruce Solberg of the Bigfork Area Chamber of Commerce, which is why Bigfork has offered to house the Flathead bureau effective by July 1.

"We're going to move on with it," Solberg said.

Solberg said he was approached by a number of businesses in Bigfork to see if the chamber could provide space for the bureau.

"It will take a while for the whole thing to get going," Solberg said. "We just don't want it to cease to exist."

Bigfork was the logical place for the move, Kurth said, because it has the next biggest group of hoteliers in the bureau.

Previously, the budget for the bureau had been about $100,000. Without bed tax, it will be based solely on membership fees and will be cut in half. The reduced budget has been approved by the current board. This should include a part-time person as director of the bureau. Solberg said he feels it would be a conflict for him to serve in that capacity as well. The bureau's executive director Dori Muehlhof took another job but is still working on a less-than part-time basis for now.

The bureau will keep its same phone numbers and website, www.fcvb.org. Details are still being worked out with its toll-free 800 number, which is currently routed through a call center in Missoula. The bureau will likely no longer be able to afford that service. Other than figuring out some details,

"It should be a seamless transition," Solberg said.

The website has been the bureau's strong point and will continue to be, Kurth said. This is particularly true as people are increasingly making their travel plans and researching travel online. Fewer people call these days when making arrangements, she said.

The bureau has also traditionally put out a travel guide each year. They hope that's still something they'll be able to do.

"We're waiting until after end of the fiscal year to see who is still interested in being part [of the bureau]," Kurth said. "We're not discouraging Kalispell hoteliers from being members, but they'll be doing their thing too."

Kurth is not upset about the move by Kalispell. She's hopeful that once the city's bureau works out the kinks with the new district the two CVBs can collaborate on projects.

Having multiple bureaus in an area is not an unusual situation, Kurth said. For example, Bend, Ore., has both its own bureau and the area has the Central Oregon Visitors Association.

Though it's moving to Bigfork, it does not mean this will become a Bigfork-only organization, Solberg said. It will still be Valley-wide.

"It's the same as it's always been, just with a little less money," Solberg said. "It's a resource for us to get information out to people who don't know anything but Flathead Lake or Flathead Valley. Through it you can get information from Polson to Eureka."

The bureau is not just limited to hoteliers, though it is a base membership. Kurth herself represents the Glacier Symphony & Chorale. The bureau has roughly 110 members, though Kurth is unsure how many of those are Kalispell-based businesses. Kurth said in moving forward she'd even like to see the bureau expand and seek more memberships in arts and culture businesses.

"It's an excellent tool for arts and culture organizations to get out," Kurth said.

Kurth said this change could be seen as a good thing for the organization.

"Sometimes change is difficult and sometimes it's good," Kurth said. "We're really excited about it."