Glacier Country Tourism: “Dear world, we miss you. Love, Montana”

(KPAX) "Love now, explore later"

That is the message in a new tourism marketing video encouraging people to be patient when planning to visit Montana.

While it's not the kind of message you'd expect to see, the marketers at Glacier Country Tourism, along with president and CEO Racene Friede, said it's the most appropriate message given these challenging times.

"We had just started our warm season campaign two weeks before this hit. And what we did is hit pause immediately on all our paid marketing. It just, for one, it's just not appropriate. But two, we also want to make sure that the time is right," said Friede.

Friede said the marketers know it's a difficult position to take, especially with the tourism sector getting hit so hard with closures. In fact, she said, putting the video together was very emotional for everyone involved.

"We have to one, talk about us. We have to talk about our communities and what we're doing for them. And then we have to concentrate on our own health and safety. It's hard for us to say 'don't come.' It's a really hard message for us. But is absolutely the right message right now,” said Friede.

It's a message being shared through most marketing channels, including social media and national media outlets. Glacier Country is still seeing a strong pace of inquiries from people who want to visit when things open up - an encouraging sign even as actual bookings have plummeted.

"We know that people love Montana. And this is just kind of a love video to them," said Friede.

To watch the whole video and to learn more you can visit Glacier Country Tourism’s website here.