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Nonresident travelers mean big bucks for Montana.

The final 2015 nonresident visitor numbers were released Wednesday, April 27, by the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research at the University of Montana. Researchers found the 2015 economic contribution of 11.7 million nonresident travelers to Montana was $3.7 billion.

These visitors directly supported more than $3.1 billion of economic activity and 46,000 Montana jobs, and indirectly supported an additional $2 billion of economic activity and over 16,000 more jobs.

Visitation was up 7 percent in 2015, with 11.7 million travelers visiting the state during the year, said Kara Grau, ITRR assistant director of economic analysis. Forty-four percent, or 5.2 million, of those visitors were in the state during the third quarter of July through September.

Forty-eight percent of spending by travelers during 2015 occurred during the third quarter, totaling over $1.7 billion, with travel groups spending an average of $153.51 per day during those summer months.

During the first and second quarters of 2015, traveler groups spent an average of $156.29 and $130.55 per day respectively, and totaled $377 million and $800 million. Fourth-quarter group spending averaged $156.04 per day, totaling nearly $744 million.