Whitefish Sustainable Tourism Management Plan Standing Committee

Whitefish Sustainable Tourism Committee Meeting Notes 9-19-23 In Attendance: Brian Schott, Nick Polumbus, Liz Colley, Mark Pascoli, Julie Mullins, Heather Cauffman, Kate McMahon 1. Existing Plan • Good foundation. Issues have remained the same, but the root causes have changed. Need to tweak and refine recommendations. • Covid put the issues on steroids. Population growth is a factor in the perception of increased tourism. For example, even though the summer lift ridership at Whitefish Mountain Resort was down 17% in 2023 (indicating a drop in visitation), it was still difficult to get reservations to Glacier National Park • More smoke affected days in the summer. • Community character has changed since before covid. There is more anti-tourism sentiment. • Housing costs have skyrocketed since the 2020 plan was adopted. Housing prices and rents are not attainable for working people. 2. Scope of Work • Need more discussion on how to coordinate with Growth Policy update. • Plan needs to address anti-visitation perception. It is not just residents but also with businesses. • Explore Whitefish has lost most of its food/beverage members. This makes it difficult to market off-season packages that offer a full range of service. 3. Why Update – Add to list in PowerPoint • Staffing – hotels have reduced the number of rooms for sale because they can’t hire enough staff. Businesses are losing staff to full-time jobs in Kalispell because employees can make more money than with seasonal jobs. Businesses have closed due to issues with staffing. This is a major concern. • Workforce retirements is another staffing issue. • Housing is an issue. Some employers are providing housing. Higher turnover in staff when housing is unavailable. • SB 540 bill passed by legislature changed lodging tax distribution. Regional organizations get the bulk of the lodging tax and local communities such as Whitefish are getting a small portion. • Lost local recycling site and need to address. 4. Accomplishments – Priorities • Education & Outreach – “Be A Friend of the Fish” • Refocused Explore Whitefish mission • STMP plan resulted in partnerships • Short-term regulations updated– Need to improve enforcement (See Atlantic article on Airbnb) • Bear proof trash containers. Zero waste farmer market/events. • Grant program for sustainable initiatives 5. Survey updates • Over 700 surveys to date. Survey will remain open until Oct. 15 • Good representations from various groups. Get more business owners/employees to participate • Next meeting will have final results and will be able to compare to responses from 2019 6. Data & Tourism Reports • Will get latest ITRR data • Explore Whitefish has market reports • Whitefish Mountain Resort has data • Housing trend data will be important 7. Community Engagement -Focus Groups • Focus groups to be scheduled late October/early November. Will review the format and logistics at STMP meeting in October. • Send out general invitation to stakeholder lists with meeting schedule and people can decide which date to attend. This will result in a variety of perspectives at each meeting. • Add emails from survey responses to stakeholder lists 8. Explore Whitefish Annual Meeting • November 1 @ 101 Central (2nd Floor) • STMP will have 5-10 minutes to provide an overview on STMP update. Brian will facilitate. • Show the slide “Why Update the Plan” 9. Plan Outcomes Heather – Continuation of good work. The plan should address community character, so Whitefish remains a community and does not feel like a tourism town. Address anti-tourism sentiment. Julie – Roadmap as to where Whitefish needs to go. Sustainability of local businesses. Maintaining community authenticity. ID key areas to address. Address conflict between locals and tourism. There is a growing sentiment of anti-tourism and hostility. Mark – A town for all community members. Avoid having a town where people can’t live and work. Liz – Preserving Whitefish as a town. Have the same mountain town feel it has always had. Change perception of tourism. Brian – Community building. Sustainability (define). Get back to basics and create a plan that is doable. How does the group drive policy (i.e., transportation) 10. Next Meeting • October 17 @ 3:00 pm • Invite Alan from Planning Dept. to talk about Growth Policy • Final survey results • Plan for focus group meetings • Review tourism reports & data