Lovell Area Chamber generating traveler interest

“We had a lot of visitors in September, more than other months,” Morrison said. “I have two full pages (of guest registrations). I think our fall season was much better than in the past. Of course, I don’t get the visitation that those others (Bighorn Canyon and Wild Mustang Center) do. Most of my visitors, I think, were either camping or in their motorhomes. I wish they were staying in motels, but I think they did well, better than ’22.”

Looking through the guest register, Morrison noticed visitors from Switzerland, Italy, England, Belgium, Canada and various east coast states, including New York and Rhode Island. People from Minnesota and Wisconsin like to visit Wyoming, as well, she said.

The local visitor centers work together. If someone stops at the chamber office, Morrison sends them on to the Mustang Center or the Park Service, and they return the favor.

“When they stop here, (and) they haven’t been there,” she said. “I send them.”

Mustang Guide a hit

The chamber’s Mustang Guide publication is also being used, she said, with visitors often carrying the guide when they enter the chamber office. Many are referred from Cody, she said.

The challenge going forward, Morrison said, is to capture more visitors who aren’t already in the area, catch them in the planning phase of their visit so that, instead of pausing in Lovell, they see Big Horn County as more of a destination while traveling to Yellowstone or Grand Teton.

“We need to get the people who have not planned their vacation yet, so they will stay here,” Morrison said. “The people who are coming for the day are benefitting some – our restaurants and gas stations – but we need to have us as a destination, and now with our Mustang Guide so well presenting everything, we need to have that in their hands as they’re planning their vacation. We want to become a destination. You’re on your way to Yellowstone, but we want you for a night or two.

“All of the venues (where) I place the Mustang Guide are asking for more. I don’t believe we have any venues that are throwing the guides away at the season’s end. I think they are getting them out. So with that happening, they may keep their guides and plan for another year. We get a lot of repeats here, people that have been coming (to the region) for years and didn’t know we were here and now this is a pleasant surprise, and they say they’ll be back.”

That’s why the Mustang Guide is so important, Morrison said. If visitors to the region pick it up, they’ll direct their future plans to the Lovell area.

The chamber is planning to put even more information into the Mustang Guide for the 2024 year to make it more useful, for instance having more information about what visitors can do in town, not just in Bighorn Canyon and the mountains.

Combining efforts

The Lovell Area Chamber is also coordinating with Greybull, Basin and Big Horn County to pool their resources and place a two-page spread in the Wyoming Office of Tourism Travel Guide, a glossy guide of more than 100 pages that promotes tourism in Wyoming and is packed full of information for visitors.

“There isn’t another two-page spread that anybody has put in,” Morrison said. “We are the first, and it will specifically advertise Big Horn County tourism with a map that shows where we are and all of the activities to do. Our logo is Big Adventures, Bigger Memories, Big Horn County. We feel like it’s catchy, it’s memorable, and then we get Big Horn in there. The Big Horns are ours. Yes, Worland advertises the Big Horn Mountains and that route, but they don’t have what we have. We’ve got more than anybody else does, so we have to show somehow that we have all these things.

“The community services become very important when they get here. There has to be something to do to keep people. They can go see the beauty, but if they don’t have anything to do at night, what are they going to do? We have golfing, bowling, a wonderful park. They have to have things to do.”

It’s all part of getting visitors to consider Big Horn County in their planning process.

“So many have said, if we only knew, we would have planned longer,” she said. “We’ve got to get them while they’re planning. That’s why we’re really anxious with our brand. Hopefully, they’ll say, ‘What have you got?’ And the list we put in that ad is quite extensive. It covers everything.

“So we’re really anxious to see the bang for our buck, because we’ve put a lot of bucks into it. It was costly, but the county commissioners are excited about it,” said Morrison. “Those that are involved in it are very optimistic and really excited about what the potential is. We want to get them on the planning side, to see that there’s more than one day’s zing on through.”

This story was published on November 2, 2023.