Visit Southeast Montana tourism board members pose for a photo at Mac's Museum, in the photo above. Pictured are: Tina Toyne representing Big Horn County, Russell Schwartz representing Prairie County, Brenda Maas SEMT Marketing Director, Norma Trent representing Musselshell County, Glen Heintz representing Prairie County, Jessica Malone representing Powder River County, Morgan Belveal representing Musselshell County, Bill Trent SEMT guest, and Lynne Foland for Windfall, SEMT Marketing Agency. (Photo courtesy Jessica Malone)
By Jessica Malone
The Visit Southeast Montana tourism board met in Broadus on June 14th for a business meeting, followed by a tour of the Powder River Historical Museum. Accompanying the board members was freelance photographer Ian Hanson, who shot pictures at a variety of businesses and locations in Broadus.
Visit Southeast Montana, or SEMT for short, is a tourism region and destination marketing organization.
When visitors spend a night in any of the region's hotels, motels and campgrounds, they are assessed an 8% lodging tax on the room charges (sometimes referred to as the "bed tax"). The tax is split between the State General Fund as well as funding programs in historic preservation, Dept of Commerce, FWP, and Tribal Economic Development, to name a few. A portion of the collected tax is also returned to SEMT through its State funded marketing budget. The Visit Southeast Montana Board of Directors oversees the general business operations of the organization and is responsible for the spending of this budget. The group meets five times per year at various host locations across the region, which encompasses the 13 counties and two Indian reservations in the southeast portion of the state.
Jessica Malone, representative for Powder River County, is currently the Vice Chair of the SEMT organization. She says, "Part of our mission at SEMT is educating our residents about the economic benefits of tourism." According to the Institute for Tourism & Recreation Research, tourism is the second largest industry in the State of Montana with 12.5 million visitors spending 5.82 billion dollars in 2022. Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks are the biggest draws, but as the locals know, we see a huge amount of that traffic come through Broadus. "Tourists aren't always everyone's favorite" Jessica says, "but those dollars have an undeniable impact on our community and local businesses. How many of our Broadus businesses could survive without the money brought in from summer travelers and seasonal hunters?" According to Brenda Maas, Marketing Director of SEMT, "The Dino ShinDig more than doubles the size of Ekalaka for one weekend each year, the same is true for the Bucking Horse Sale, and it makes a huge difference for Main Steet businesses."
With so many visitors passing through, the Visitor Information Center in Broadus, located at the rest area/weigh station, is prepping for the busy season. The visitor center is currently managed by the Powder River Chamber of Commerce with grant funds from SEMT.
Joe Stuver, visitor center employee, commented "I just want to emphasize how important the center is. My main objectives are welcoming guests with the motive of bringing as much business as I can into our community and using our museum as a major attraction." Joe greets visitors with a smile and a wealth of local and historical knowledge. "Joe has been an incredible asset to our operation." Jessica said. "When customers tell a business owner "Joe sent us," we know it's making a difference." The visitor center is open Wednesday-Saturday from 10am-4pm.
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