Popular arts and culture venues such as the SpectrUM Discovery Area are closed to visitors as Montana deals with the COVID-19 crisis. | SpectrUM Discovery Area Facebook
Popular arts and culture venues such as the SpectrUM Discovery Area are closed to visitors as Montana deals with the COVID-19 crisis. | SpectrUM Discovery Area Facebook
MISSOULA – With a heavy reliance on tourism and entertainment, Missoula – and Montana as a whole – is vulnerable to the ripples of an economic slowdown from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and government response, an economist said in a recent interview.
ABMJ Consulting economist Bryce Ward, who holds an economics doctorate from Harvard, recently spoke to Missoula Economic Partnership’s members about the area's vulnerabilities.
“Missoula and Montana are heavily concentrated on arts and entertainment, retail, accommodation and services – a whole bunch of industries that are likely to see very, very significant impacts,” Ward said.
He predicted that social distancing measures will create significant losses in the service industries. Already, car rental and restaurant reservation data from across the country are showing declines.
Yet, the state is taking steps to offset the impact on businesses, said Tara Rice, the director of the Montana Department of Commerce.
“The Montana Department of Commerce is considering all public policy options right now,” she said.
Rice also discussed emergency loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.
The program can provide up to $2 million in emergency loan assistance per business at 3.75 percent interest. The rate for nonprofits is 2.75 percent.
Rice said Montana Gov. Steve Bullock put in a request for the emergency loan program, and it is now available to Montana entities.
“Local small businesses are bearing the brunt of that impact and facing a severe decline in customer traffic,” said Small Business Administration regional administrator Dan Nordberg. “SBA’s top priority is to assist businesses adversely impacted by the coronavirus, and our Economic Injury Disaster Loans can be the working capital lifelines they need to weather this difficult time.”
Racene Friede, president and CEO of Glacier Country, which promotes tourism in Western Montana, said officials are working at “planting the seed for future travel.”
Glacier Country’s approach is to try to make sure Western Montana is at the front of people’s minds once travel restrictions are lifted.
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