Recent Travel Indicators

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National Indicators

The South Dakota Office of Tourism tracks the latest indicators and forecasts for the economy and US travel industry.

 

Since December 2010, hotel occupancy has been on the rise. U.S. room occupancy in November was up approximately 4.7% over November 2010. Currently, the U.S. is seeing a YTD occupancy increase of 4.4% through November.

 

Since October, consumer confidence has been on the rise as the economy continues to bounce back. After experiencing a huge plunge in August and another in October, consumer confidence bounced back with huge increases in November and December.

* Consumer confidence is a measure of the level of optimism consumers have about the performance of the economy. Generally consumer confidence is high when the unemployment rate is low and GDP growth is high.

Since November 2010, employment in the lodging industry continues to be on the upswing. As the economy continues to improve, business and leisure travel returns, bringing with it jobs in the lodging industry. Recreational employment saw a slight increase in May as attractions are beginning to hire for the upcoming summer months. Air transportation also saw an increase in employment in May. Lodging employment saw the largest increase in employment for the year in October.

 

For more information regarding these travel indicators please contact Ashley Worth at Ashley.Worth@state.sd.us or call 605-773-3301.