Developing Local
Photo Credit: Missoulian Angler
www.missoulianangler.com
There are a millions of guidebooks, blogs, and mapping services. When we built PlanXplore’s business plan, the secret sauce wasn’t high-tech algorithms… it’s local knowledge.
If you’re visiting a place like Montana for a fly fishing trip, nothing beats visiting the local fly shop to figure out where to go, what the hatch is looking like, and what to use to have a successful trip. There can be 100+ years of of local fishing knowledge sitting behind that desk. In the mountain sport community this is known as beta, in the military it’s known as gouge, and it’s always critical to having a great experience.
Montana’s economy is built around that fly shop interaction. The Montana adventure tourism drove 12.5 million visitors to spend $5.82 billion dollars, much of which goes directly to local businesses. Fly shops, ski hills, hunting guides, restaurants, and your huckleberry pie stand on the side of the highway all benefit from this.
The reality is, the folks who work at these businesses have a short season to make ends meet. Whether it’s a ski patroller making sure you’re safe on the mountain or a whitewater rafting guide making sure you have a unforgettable experience, they face seasonality on the job, poor pay, and no benefits. They don’t do it to get rich, they do it because they love being on the trail, river, or mountain.
As we develop PlanXplore, we want to harness the hard earned knowledge these adventure workers have gathered over their careers in two ways:
Compensate the adventure worker to highlight and detail their favorite trails, routes, and post-ride beer spot.
Cite the adventure worker in all of the local information they provide, with a profile which enables PlanXplore users to reach out directly. Give credit where credit is due, and drive business directly to the adventure worker.
We’re getting started with Missoula, Kalispell, and Whitefish in house. From there, we hope to branch out to these adventure workers to cover the entirety of the great state of Montana.
More to follow. Cheers.
