Seeking Nominations for the 2011 Tourism Awards
Each year at the annual South Dakota Governor's Conference on Tourism, awards are presented to outstanding members or organizations that have contributed to the state's visitor industry. The Ben Black Elk Award and the A.H. Pankow Award are based on peer nominations. If you know of a business or individual worthy of consideration, please submit a nomination.
Deadline is September 2.

Office of Tourism
For more information, contact
Arline Hammer
at
Arline.Hammer@state.sd.us
or
605-773-3301

2010 Native South Dakota guide
The updated and renamed "Native South Dakota - A Travel Guide to Tribal Lands" (formerly the "The Great Sioux Nation" guide) is now available in a downloadable and printable PDF on www.TravelSD.com. Contact Eileen Bertsch for more information at eileen.bertsch@state.sd.us.

Office of Tourism Staff Update
The Trade Sales and Marketing team welcomes Justin Larson as the new Trade Sales Representative. His key marketing areas include travel agent marketing, the Japanese market, e-news and social media.

Trade Sales and Marketing
For more information, contact
Maureen Droz
at
Maureen.Droz@state.sd.us
or
605-773-3301

2010 Black Hills Photo Shootout
Registrations are rolling in and things are coming together for the 2010 Black Hills Photo Shootout, September 17-19. Learn more at www.BlackHillsPhotoShootout.com or contact Chad Coppess or Scott Howard for more information at chad.coppess@state.sd.us or scott.howard@state.sd.us.

Film Crew Hosting
Maureen Droz, Trade Sales and Marketing team, and Katlyn Richter, Media and Public Relations team, hosted a film crew and presenter from VRT Belgium to South Dakota’s Black Hills, Badlands National Park and the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, June 6-9. The filming is for a program on Belgian National Television called “Flanders on Holiday” (that has a reach of 800,000-900,000 viewers). The 45-minute episode also includes footage from Wyoming.

Trade Sales and Marketing
For more information, contact
Maureen Droz
at
Maureen.Droz@state.sd.us
or
605-773-3301

Travel South Dakota Day at the 2010 State Fair
Friday, September 3, is Travel South Dakota Day at the State Fair. The Office of Tourism has partnered with the State Fair to have all-day access to a sponsor tent located across from the Freedom Stage. The day will be promoted through various methods.

South Dakota Tourism would like to partner with visitor industry members to set up booths within the tent on Travel South Dakota Day:

• Each partner will have their own space (size is 8x10) – the State Fair will provide a skirted table and chairs
• Set up by 9 a.m. and tear down at 6 p.m.
• Open to all visitor industry organizations and businesses
• Open to first 25 partners
• $100 per partner

Partners will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, based on when payment is received – no verbal commitments.
Deadline is July 1.

Visitor and Industry Relations
For more information, contact
Nicole Soukup
at
Nicole.Soukup@state.sd.us
or
605-773-3301

May 2010 Travel Indicators
Recent travel indicators for South Dakota have been updated for May 2010. Hotel occupancy rates remained unchanged for the month, while the number of overnight stays increased. Web traffic was up over 18 percent. For further information, please visit the Travel Indicators page.

Research and E-Commerce
For more information, contact
Ashley Worth
at
Ashley.Worth@state.sd.us
or
605-773-3301

South Dakota Travel Monitoring System
We will no longer be updating the South Dakota Travel Monitoring System (SDTMS) reports. The system was developed and maintained by the Center for Tourism Research at Black Hills State University for the South Dakota Office of Tourism. A special thank you goes out to Dr. Dan Spencer and BHSU for all their work with this system.

Research and E-Commerce
For more information, contact
Ashley Worth
at
Ashley.Worth@state.sd.us
or
605-773-3301

Summer Interns at the Office of Tourism
Nellie Bloomberg – Visitor Industry Relations; Nicole Soukup, supervisor
Jenna Nagel – Photography; Thad Friedeman/Chad Coppess, supervisors
Steve Nelson – Trade Sales & Marketing; Maureen Droz, supervisor
Nikki Novak – Information Centers; Natasha Bothun, supervisor
Kristine Young – Public Relations; Wanda Goodman, supervisor

Office of Tourism
For more information,
contact
SDInfo@state.sd.us
or
605-773-3301

Important Reminders
Peak 2010 Vacation Packages - FREE LISTING
Remember that vacation package listings on www.TravelSD.com are now FREE, so send us your packages as soon as they’re developed. For more information, contact Brad Lemmel at bradley.lemmel@state.sd.us.

2010 Great Events
River City Racin’, Chamberlain/Oacoma – June 19-20 – CANCELLED

What Our Visitors Are Saying...
An email sent to the Office of Tourism:

"Hey ya'll-(I'm from Texas!)
Just wanted to let you know-
I became a specialist a few years ago, but had never traveled to your beautiful state until just last week. I can't even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed it. I took my 13-year-old grandson with me. We flew into Rapid City via AA and our home base was Keystone. Everyone there was great. The only bad thing was we didn't have enough time – we needed a couple of more days! We saw Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park, Crazy Horse and the Badlands. We went to the Minuteman Missile and took the tours there. We had lunch at the Drug Store in Wall. We stopped at Reptile Gardens and Bear Country USA and the Cosmos Mystery tour. One day we drove over to Devil's Tower. We had a great time and I can't wait to go back! I'll be sending a lot of customers there too! "

- Shannon, a travel agent from Greenville, Texas