A new report from the Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development has confirmed a trend visible to anyone who has stood in line at a Bozeman coffee shop recently: the state’s tourists are getting older, wealthier, and fewer in number, a demographic shift one local business owner described as “the same number of dollars attached to fewer, slower-moving people.”

Overall visitor counts dipped in 2025, continuing a post-pandemic correction that has quietly alarmed chambers of commerce across the state. But spending per visitor rose, suggesting that while fewer people are coming to Montana, the ones who do are arriving with considerably more money and considerably less interest in camping.

“We used to get families in a minivan looking for the cheapest motel,” said Darren Schiff, who manages a boutique hotel on Main Street. “Now we get a couple in a rented Escalade asking if we have a wine list. We do not have a wine list. We have a vending machine. They were surprisingly okay with that.”

The average Montana tourist in 2025 was 54 years old, up from 47 in 2019. Median trip spending rose to $1,800, up from $1,100. The most requested activities shifted from hiking and fishing to “scenic driving” and “spa services,” which the report defines as “looking at mountains from a seated position.”

In Big Sky, the shift has been especially pronounced. Resort operators report a growing population of visitors who purchase ski passes but spend most of their time in the lodge, which one instructor called “aspirational skiing.”

“They buy the jacket. They buy the goggles. They take a photo on the deck. And then they have lunch for three hours,” said Brenda Osterman, a ski school coordinator. “Honestly, it’s great for the restaurant. It’s just a little surreal to see someone in $2,000 of gear eat a cheeseburger for the entire afternoon.”

Local economists say the trend reflects broader national shifts in leisure travel, and that Montana should prepare for a future in which the state’s economy depends less on volume and more on “high-value visitors,” a phrase that several Belgrade residents met with visible skepticism.

“High-value visitors,” repeated Gary Noland, a carpenter from Belgrade, when asked for comment. “So rich people. They mean rich people.” He took a sip of coffee. “We already have those. They built houses in the Bridgers and forgot to come into town.”

The tourism office says it plans to adjust its marketing accordingly, targeting what the report calls “affluent adventure-curious adults aged 50-65 in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West corridors.”

A spokesperson clarified that this does not mean Montana is giving up on younger visitors. “We welcome everyone,” she said. “It’s just that everyone who can afford to come is 54.”