Montana Tourism Officials Report A Good Season

An official with the Montana Office of Tourism says the state has had a good tourism year despite high gas prices and a struggling economy.

Spokeswoman Sarah Lawlor says that the majority of areas in the state had good business all the way through September.

The Montana Department of Revenue says that bed tax numbers rose 14.1 percent in the first quarter compared to last year, and 2.7 percent in the second quarter.

Officials say Montana had the second-highest lodging occupancy in the nation at more than 85 percent, behind only North Dakota.

Experts say an energy boom in eastern Montana and an oil spill that brought in workers to the Billings area accounted for some of that.

Associated Press