Leaders reflect on summer growth in 2024 following a busy events season
By Leslie Kilgore EBS CONTRIBUTOR
Editor’s note: Outlaw Partners is the publisher of Explore Big Sky and is the producer of events discussed in this story.
As the seasons change in Big Sky and the community prepares for the upcoming winter season, business owners reflect on how summer events, and the visitors they bring to the area impacted business this year. With the Big Sky Farmers Market, Music in the Mountains, Artisan Festival, Big Sky PBR and Wildlands Festival all staples of Big Sky, most agree that the summer season is now just as important for profits and growth as winter in Big Sky.
While the busiest times for business owners centered around weekends in July and August, Wednesday and Thursday nights during the Big Sky Farmers Market and Music in the Mountains also saw some of the biggest numbers of the year as far as foot traffic in Town Center.
“The summer of 2024 will go down in our books as the smoothest and most comfortable summer on record,” said Troy “Twist” Thompson, owner of Blue Buddha Sushi Lounge, The Drunken Monk, Blindside Burger and Tres Toros Tacos & Tequila. “All of our restaurants did fantastic.”
The Arts Council of Big Sky commissioned an economic impact report earlier this year after they continued to record a significant increase in visitors during summer, particularly during the three months Music in the Mountains takes place every Thursday in Town Center’s Len Hill Park.
The arts council’s report estimated that 70% of the approximately 46,000 visitors to Big Sky’s Music in the Mountains each year are from outside of Big Sky, and stay an average of two days. Guests were valued at $180 per visitor, per day. The study allocated spending on food, fuel, transportation expenses, lodging and miscellaneous retail.
“The report demonstrates what we’ve known all along, that the arts and programs like Music in the Mountains have a huge impact on the local economy,” said Brian Hurlbut, executive director of the Arts Council of Big Sky.
Another weekly event that proved to have a significant increase in visitors this summer was the Big Sky Farmers Market. While the market has taken place from June through September for the last 16 years, the past few summers have proven to be more highly attended with local vendors seeing an increase in profits, particularly during July and August.
“The market has been quite successful with the expanded venue and a more strategic vendor layout,” said Erik Morrison, producer of the Big Sky Farmers Market. “It’s now designed to drive traffic through that East-West corridor, to merchants and our brick-and-mortar businesses. Many Town Center businesses report that Wednesdays are one of their best days each week of the summer.”
Longtime Big Sky resident and owner of Trove West, Kate Tomkinson said that summer is now an important factor for the ongoing success of her store.
“Summers have grown steadily and become increasingly important to retailers in Big Sky. Summer events bring locals, second homeowners, first-time visitors and club members into town weekly, and sadly there is nothing in winter that compares.”
Outlaw Partners conducted a third-party economic impact study of their 2024 summer events at the Big Sky Events Arena in Town Center. Outlaw’s 2024 summer events season featured 16 total days of event programming that included the Big Sky Community Rodeo, Big Sky PBR, Wildlands Festival among others, bringing visitors from across the globe to Big Sky. Several community fundraising events also generated $750,000 for local and regional nonprofits.
The study also showed that Outlaw Partners’ 2024 events had a gross economic impact of $37.4 million in the area, with $21.8 million directly retained in Gallatin County. It also revealed that this summer, 50,000 event attendees contributed to $8 million in economic impact with retailers, $5.7 million at restaurants and bars, and $6.5 million in lodging and at hotels in the area.
“It’s been exciting to see our events grow through the years and most importantly, the positive impact they are making for businesses, charities and tourism within Big Sky and greater southwest Montana,” said Megan Paulson, co-founder and CMO of Outlaw.
Paulson also mentioned that it’s important to look at the demographics of travelers coming to the area to experienceBig Sky’s summer events. This year, ticket purchasers for Outlaw events including Big Sky PBR and Wildlands Festival represented 50% in Montana and 50% from out-of-state, including nine countries internationally and 419 cities nationwide. Many of the top cities match direct-fly zones serviced by Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport.
The Big Sky Chamber of Commerce recently reported that summer visitor numbers over the past two years were comparable to winter visitors, as well as spending by visitors per day.
“Overall, Big Sky continues to see strong visitation from domestic and international visitors each year,” Brad Niva, CEO of the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce, stated in an email to EBS. “Both 2023 and 2024 were similar in visitation and visitor spending. This is a return to ‘normal’ after an amazing visitation after COVID.”
As a prominent business owner in Town Center, Thompson has witnessed many changes in Big Sky over the past five years and continues to analyze the evolution of growth for small businesses in the community, particularly for his restaurants.
“While this summer was not the most profitable since we’ve been in Big Sky, as we were slightly down in sales, we had zero turnover with employees and I would say the highest guest satisfaction since opening,” Thompson said. “It was the sweet spot we in the restaurant biz hope for every night. Busy enough to fill the seats but not crazy enough to have the dreaded burnout by summer’s end.”
Several Big Sky frontrunners and business owners also mentioned that while the increase in visitors continues to be affected by the world-class events Big Sky now offers in the summer, the larger community effort that now exists ensures a positive, memorable and more streamlined visitor experience overall.
“It truly takes a village to create a world-class event experience here in Big Sky,” Paulson said. “We are thankful for the community, partners and sponsors who help make it possible.”
