May 22, 2024

This paid piece is sponsored by Experience Sioux Falls.

If you don’t think travel plays a vital role in our nation’s economy, think again.

National Travel & Tourism Week is being celebrated this week by those in the industry to showcase the importance of visitors on both a micro and macro level.

From a big-picture perspective, travel is a $2.8 trillion industry in the United States. But what does that mean for us locally?

According to research from Travel South Dakota, our state welcomed 14.7 million visitors last year, which led to $4.96 billion in visitor spending.

Sioux Falls saw more than 825,000 visitors, with an estimated economic impact of more than $309 million to our economy in 2023. These numbers for Sioux Falls are likely much higher, but that is just what Experience Sioux Falls can count.

In total, tourism in South Dakota last year generated $384 million in state and local tax revenue while supporting 58,000 jobs throughout the state. Without tourism in South Dakota, each household would pay an additional $1,040 in taxes each year.

“When you think of travel and tourism, you typically think about family vacations, but you also need to consider people traveling for their kids’ sports tournaments, traveling for a business meeting and including those who travel even just an hour away for a medical appointment,” Experience Sioux Falls CEO Teri Schmidt said.

“All of these people are spending money in these destinations at restaurants, shops, hotels and even fuel for their vehicles. That money is all being left behind in each city for the local economy to reap the benefits.”

Experience Sioux Falls is doing a number of things for National Travel & Tourism Week, including recognizing industry partners for their support, coordinating with local attractions and businesses to be lit red — the official color of travel and tourism — and rolling out some new creative designs highlighting a few attractions in the area.

“We worked with Lemonly to create these fun, animated designs depicting a few local attractions that people can experience in our city,” Experience Sioux Falls director of marketing Krista Orsack said. “We also had stickers of these made that can be purchased at the Falls Park Visitor Information Center.”

Take a look at a sampling of the designs!

Follow Experience Sioux Falls on social media this week to see each design.

You’ll soon be able to buy this Sioux Falls-themed map at the Visitor Information Center at Falls Park too.

“We are also excited to be officially launching a brand-new customer service training program in the coming weeks, which will aim to educate and inform front-line hospitality folks on a few of the many different offerings in Sioux Falls, in addition to some customer service tips,” Orsack said.

Stay informed on updates from Experience Sioux Falls and what’s happening in the industry.

As southeast S.D. leads in visitor spending, tourism leaders project strong season