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eFYI – Featuring Your Industry – April 2012
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SECRETARY'S MESSAGE
Hello, Tourism Partners!
During the last week of March, my team and I hit the road to officially launch 'Your American Journey.' The response from the public has been great! Since March 26, we’ve earned 53 news clips from across the country, and have received positive emails and phone calls regarding the new creative. A gentleman from Iowa called to say that he and his wife saw our new television spot on their CBS affiliate in Des Moines. He relayed that, “the videography is exquisite and the musical background is uplifting. The ad reminds me of a National Geographic special.” He stated that if this campaign doesn’t get people to South Dakota, nothing will! We have been monitoring our web traffic and inquiries, and look forward to sharing those numbers with you. You may click here to view all of the new television spots and print creative.
As we all know, this winter and spring have been extra dry. Even though parts of the state received some much needed moisture last week, fire danger is a concern. Though we can’t predict what Mother Nature will send our way, we can prepare for how we communicate with our visitors. I encourage all of you to give this some thought and, if we should experience some fires, have a plan in place now that communicates the facts to visitors. We are preparing a communications plan similar to the plan we implemented with last year’s flooding.
And finally, National Travel & Tourism Week is coming up in just one month! My team is working on two Travel Rally Day events to take place in Mitchell and Rapid City on May 8 and 9; you can see further information below. In the meantime, here is a link to our Why Travel Matters video. I encourage each of you to share this video with friends, family, elected officials, and your industry colleagues to spread the word about the importance of travel and tourism to our economy.
Thank you for all of the work you do to make this industry shine, and here’s to a successful peak season!
Jim
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National Travel and Tourism Week
National Travel and Tourism Week (NTTW) was first established in 1984 to champion the power of travel through localized events in cities, states and travel businesses nationwide. In 2012, NTTW will take place in destinations throughout the country May 5-13. A key component of NTTW is Travel Rally Day, taking place on Tuesday, May 8, and in South Dakota on May 8 and 9. Travel Rally Day brings together travel workers from all sectors to highlight travel's value as an economic force and job creator. NTTW not only unites the tourism community but also reminds our lawmakers and media how powerful the travel industry is in destinations across the country.
South Dakota Efforts
In conjunction with NTTW, the Department of Tourism is partnering with Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVBs) across South Dakota on city-specific marketing efforts. The following CVBs submitted applications and were approved to receive funds from the Department of Tourism to be used toward their marketing expenses: Aberdeen, Chamberlain, Mitchell, Pierre, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Watertown and Yankton. |
Media & Industry Relations
For more information, contact
Wanda Goodman
at
Wanda.Goodman@travelsd.com
or
605-773-3301
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Media Blitz
Upon request, members of the Media & Industry Relations team will travel across South Dakota during NTTW in an effort to encourage in-state travel, educate the public and the media on the importance of tourism in South Dakota, and talk about the upcoming 2012 peak season. They will be available for live media interviews.
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Media & Industry Relations
For more information, contact
Wanda Goodman
at
Wanda.Goodman@travelsd.com
or
605-773-3301
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2012 Literature Swaps
The 2012 Literature Swaps will be Tuesday, May 8, in Mitchell and Wednesday, May 9, in Rapid City. The Southeast Tourism Lit Swap in MItchell will be at the Corn Palace, with registration beginning at 10 a.m. The Black Hills, Badlands & Lakes Lit Swap will be at the Rapid City Civic Center in Rushmore Hall CD, 9 a.m.-12 noon.
| Research & Visitor Services
For more information, contact
Mandy Brumfield
at
Mandy.Brumfield@travelsd.com
or
605-773-3301
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Travel Rally Day Events
Following the lit swaps in Mitchell on May 8 and Rapid City on May 9, the Department of Tourism, in conjunction with several industry members, will hold a Travel Rally Day. You’ll want to stick around to hear a special message on the importance of travel and tourism to our country, our state, and in particular, our local communities. The U.S. Travel Association and cities across the country are staging Travel Rally Day events on May 8, and we are taking advantage of the opportunity to spread the word to local citizens, elected officials and media about the importance of our industry. You won’t want to miss it!
Mitchell
May 8, 2012
Presentation starts at 12:30 p.m.
Rapid City
May 9, 2012
Presentation starts at 1:00 p.m.
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Media & Industry Relations
For more information, contact
Wanda Goodman
at
Wanda.Goodman@travelsd.com
or
605-773-3301
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Spring Hospitality Training
Fifteen communities across South Dakota are hosting spring hospitality training sessions in the months of April, May and June. More information about this spring's training opportunities, including an alphabetical listing by community, is available on www.SDVisit.com. If you know of other training taking place, please email details to Eileen Bertsch.
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Media & Industry Relations
For more information, contact
Eileen Bertsch
at
Eileen.Bertsch@travelsd.com
or
605-773-3301 |
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Smith Travel Research
Smith Travel Research (STR) is the leader in providing accurate information and analysis to the lodging industry. The SD Department of Tourism currently subscribes to this service and is able to track indicators such as hotel occupancy, average daily rates, supply and revenue. In order to have the most accurate data available, we encourage any hotel/motel who doesn’t currently report to STR to do so. If you would like to contribute your data to the report, please contact Ashley Worth to get started.
| Research & Visitor Services
For more information, contact
Ashley Worth
at
Ashley.Worth@travelsd.com
or
605-773-3301
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2013 Tourism Award Nominations
The 2012 Tourism awards were presented at the conference in January: the Ben Black Elk Award was presented to Hazel Juhnke from Vivian; and the A.H. Pankow Award was presented to Bob Faehn, KXLG, in Watertown. Ted Hustead from Wall Drug Store received the first Ben Black Elk Award in 1979 and journalist Ron Bender received the first A.H. Pankow Award in 1981. Award nominations are made by tourism industry members and are accepted year-round; nomination forms can be found on www.SDVisit.com.
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Media & Industry Relations
For more information, contact
Arline Hammer
at
Arline.Hammer@travelsd.com
or
605-773-3301
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Trade Show Leads Available
Tour operator and journalist leads from ITB (the largest trade show in Germany) and from the French Mission, both held in March 2012, are available to download from www.SDVisit.com. Please contact a member of the International & Domestic Trade Sales team if you do not currently have the download information.
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International & Domestic
Trade Sales
For more information, contact
Maureen Droz
at
Maureen.Droz@travelsd.com
or
605-773-3301
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Familiarization Tours
Stephen Nelson is preparing the Japanese Media Fam, scheduled to take place May 22-27, as well as the travel agent fam, scheduled for August 15-22. The Japanese Media Fam will include major attractions in the Black Hills. The travel agent fam will tour the entire state, highlighting South Dakota’s premier attractions.
| International & Domestic
Trade Sales
For more information, contact
Stephen Nelson
at
Stephen.Nelson@travelsd.com
or
605-773-3301
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Important Reminders
Events Calculator
The Events Calculator allows the Department of Tourism to estimate the economic impact of events, concerts and conferences held in South Dakota. If you would like to have your event analyzed, submit your data online. For more information, contact Ashley Worth at ashley.worth@travelsd.com.
FREE Online Customer Service Training
South Dakota Tourism’s free Online Customer Service Training is available year-round to all businesses and organizations in South Dakota. For more information and/or the ID code to access the training, contact Eileen Bertsch at eileen.bertsch@travelsd.com.
Great Service Star Logo
 If your business, organization or attraction has earned the Great Service Star designation for 2012, you can use the logo in your marketing efforts. For electronic files of the logo, contact Eileen Bertsch at eileen.bertsch@travelsd.com.
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 U.S. Travel Association Updates
U.S. Travel Outlook, April 2012
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South Dakota Department of Tourism
Monthly Progress Report
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