Report: Tourism impact in South Dakota grows to $1.8B

• Corn Palace

Mitchell's Corn Palace and other tourism draws helped boost South Dakota's economy in 2011.

Talk about it

PIERRE — Despite a cool and damp spring and early summer, major flooding and high gas prices, South Dakota’s visitor industry showed improvement in 2011.

A new report from IHS Global Insight shows that the total impact of South Dakota’s visitor industry increased by 1.51 percent in 2011 over 2010. The estimate includes actual numbers from January-October 2011, and forecast numbers for November and December 2011.

The report said tourism’s economic impact to the state was $1.8 billion, compared to $1.78 billion in 2010.

Tourism’s impact, as defined by IHS Global Insight, includes only those dollars that are retained within South Dakota. It includes core tourism (visitor spending), non-core tourism (spending by tourism industry suppliers), government spending (Department of Tourism’s marketing dollars, info center expenditures), private investment in infrastructure and resident outbound expenditures.

“In 2011, tourism generated 18.7 percent of all state and local tax revenues in South Dakota,” said Gov. Dennis Daugaard. “Tourism continues to be a revenue-generating, job-creating industry year after year, regardless of the challenges it faces.”

Other findings from the report:

• More than 27,000 jobs were supported by core travel and tourism economic activity.

• Tourism activity generated $271 million in state and local government revenues in 2011.

• Without tourism, each household would pay about $833 more in taxes each year.

• One out of every 11 South Dakota jobs depends on travel and tourism.

• 8.2 percent of visitor spending came from international visitors.

“To have even a slight increase after the year we had is a huge testament to the perseverance of our visitor industry,” said Jim Hagen, secretary of the South Dakota Department of Tourism. “We worked together, adjusted our message, and ended up coming out ahead.”

The South Dakota Department of Tourism is comprised of Tourism, the South Dakota Arts Council, and the South Dakota State Historical Society.

Tags: news, updates, state, capitol, tourism