MISSOULA — Anyone who has lived in Missoula for the past several years may know that tourism, by the numbers, has been increasing across the state.
And with that sometimes comes a lot of opinions. Destination Missoula recently set out to gather more than anecdotal data on the topic, with its 2026 survey results now out.
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But to touch on the anecdotal opinions, you need not look far to find someone who has extensive knowledge of tourism in Missoula.
Ben Silverman is a grocery clerk at Wordens, a small market and deli located towards the XXXs on Higgins.
He has a lot of experience when it comes to interacting with Missoula’s visitors.
“I'd say we have regulars that hold down this, I'd say about 50, 50 really from my perspective, maybe 60, 40 with regulars being a majority. But definitely a lot of tourists,” said Silverman.
One organization that helps promote Missoula’s tourism economy is Destination Missoula, which recently completed a survey asking Missoulians what they think of tourism.
Emily Rolston is the destination stewardship manager for Destination Missoula. She says her organization conducted the online survey to identify the perception of a variety of characteristics regarding Missoula’s tourism economy.
“We know kind of like anecdotally how folks feel about tourism here, but we really want to hear from, you know, as many people as would answer our survey,” said Rolston.
Perhaps the key finding of the survey was that a large majority of Missoulians who responded had a favorable view of tourism, with 62% of respondents saying they were ‘extremely likely’ to recommend a visit to Missoula - up 13% from 2023.
Something that Silverman can relate to, with a caveat.
“Missoula is kind of experiencing this buzz of tourism as people are getting out in the summer or winter to experience new places. Missoula is changing,” said Silverman.
The numbers for 2026’s tourism season are set to be sent out in the coming months, and we’ll be sure to follow up on what they ultimately shake out to.
To view the survey results, head to Destination Missoula’s website.
