Rental car desks at an airport
The tourism industry on Glacier National Park’s west side expects a record-breaking season this summer, but there’s concern a nationwide rental car shortage could dampen the comeback of visitors flying into northwest Montana.
At Glacier Raft Company in West Glacier, customers are eagerly calling in to book their rafting trips for this summer. They gather all the normal reservation info, but the staff are also asking customers flying into town if they have a rental car. Much of the available inventory this summer is already booked.
As the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention OKs travel for fully vaccinated people and faith in the safety of air-travel is growing, local business owners and tourism agencies say there aren’t enough rental cars to keep up with the number of tourists expected to fly into Glacier International Airport.