Montana Tourism?

Over the weekend, I had a very strange question. It was well-intentioned I'm sure, but I was at a card game and someone who knew I was in the travel business asked "Do you think the success of the Hannah Montana movie will spark interest for people to visit Montana?" I waited, 2-3-4 thinking this person was going to bust out laughing, but apparently not. It was what he considered a legitimate question. That tells me there are a lot of people out there who enjoy travel, or think about travel, but who haven't the first CLUE about what makes things go. Then again, if you asked me what makes my car go, I'd say "the accelerator," so I have no room to be critical! Sometimes films can generate interest in a destination. Nicole Kidman's latest, Australia, has a story line attached but was actively pursued and aided by the Australian Tourism Board, seeking to publicize their country cinematically. A few years ago, Brooke Shields was a young-baby-mama in Blue Lagoon, which although never shown on a map in the movie, turned into a huge boom for tour operators in The Bahamas, where it was filmed. Famous movies in the past have also led to tourism breakouts: Three Coins In The Fountain, An American In Paris, Doctor Zhivago, and Tora! Tora! Tora! Other films, particularly fiction pieces not specifically linked to a destination, have seen tourism growth in the real-world setting, once people learn where the movie was filmed. Perfect example: Jurassic Park was supposed to have taken place in South America, but was actually filmed on Kauai in the Hawaiian islands. The original Doctor Dolittle (the 1967 Rex Harrison version, not the lame Eddie Murphy re-make) which supposedly took place in an enchanted land, was really filmed on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. So YES, films can lead to tourism - but not in all cases. After the bleak, black-and-white beginning of The Wizard Of Oz, I doubt people were flocking to Kansas all of a sudden. The fact that they had huge, house-eating tornadoes and witches living every other block didn't help, either! Midnight Express didn't leave people clamoring to visit Turkish prisons, and To Live And Die In L.A. was anything but a travelogue for Los Angeles. And most recently, Slumdog Millionaire won't have people stepping over one another to get to Mumbai, good film or not.

So will Hannah Montana The Movie lead to tourism in Big Sky country? Only among the less-educated would be my guess. Probably a similar number to those who saw Deliverance, and decided they needed to get in touch with their long-lost 3rd cousins living in the backwoods of rural Georgia....

I saw an interesting ski note today. There have been some high-profile people injured or killed in the last few years when skiing (Sonny Bono and Natasha Richardson come to mind first), and Vail Resorts of Colorado & California just announce that for the 2009-2010 season, all employees who ski or snowboard on the job will wear helmets. Mandatory. Furthermore, all children 12 and under will be required to wear helmets during group lessons through its schools, and a helmet will now be a part of the children's rental package, unless parents sign a waiver. Why would a parent sign such a waiver? "Heck no - I don't want my kid being a wimp, this is skiing!" Trust me, there are some who will sign the waiver. Most likely because Junior started crying and that's some parents' way of keeping the balance. But it should be required, and I think other sites and resorts will follow. Yes it's true I rode a bike in the 50's, and nobody had ever heard of a bicycle helmet and I survived. Big deal. There are more people on the slopes these days, and more people who watch and try to emulate the "extreme" side of the sport, so accidents are more prevalent. I say good rule. So it must be.

Did you ever live in a small town? I've been in a few that were 15,000 or so, but never anything really tiny. Nothing the size of say Ashland, N.H. (pop., 2,000). Apparently things work a little differently in small-town America. Take for example Tony Randall - not the actor - who was elected Chief of Police by Ashland's 12-member police force in March. A surveyor by trade, Randall promised he would know more about his job by September. That's when he's scheduled to finish police academy training. I wonder if Andy will let him carry the bullet by then (see Barney Fife, any episode).

Speaking of small-town thinking, there's still some small-state thinking out there. Laws that have been on the books so long, nobody bothers to take them off. In Kentucky, there are provisions which are not a-kin to normal Homeland-Security concerns. One of Kentucky's State statutes requires that anyone licensed as a first responder to disasters, must take an oath against dueling. Not like banjos or singing with a friend, dueling as in Aaron Burr! Candidates are supposed to raise their right hand and swear "I, being a citizen of Kentucky, have not fought a duel with deadly weapons ... nor have I sent or accepted a challenge to duel, nor have I acted as a second in carrying a challenge to duel, so help me God."

Who knows - Maybe Lionel Ritchie's song "Still" eventually led to Kentucky tourism. "Still" - Kentucky Tourism - 2-3-4.....