Montana’s tourism industry heavily favors the western half of the state, anchored by mountainous gateway communities surrounding Glacier and Yellowstone national parks. But while many travelers to Montana pass through huge swaths of the state en route to myriad destinations, there has been a data gap in understanding the impact of the tourism industry to the eastern half of Montana.

A new study published by the University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research starts filling in that gap, with a five-year look at county and regional-level visitation statistics that created a detailed picture of how out-of-state visitors interact and experience with eastern communities.

The comprehensive report, published this week, showed that from 2018 to 2023, drive-through visitat

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