The Industry Outreach & Development team’s core function is to provide support and assistance to the communities and businesses within the tourism industry. This team can provide information about cooperative programs, marketing campaigns, consumer trends and marketing research. In addition, they are responsible for organizing industry outreach events and assisting communities with destination development initiatives within the four key niche areas of agri-tourism, sports tourism, outdoor adventure tourism and tribal tourism.
The Industry Outreach, Development and Research team is responsible for providing support and assistance to the communities and businesses within the South Dakota tourism industry. This team proactively travels the state to provide industry members with information about cooperative programs, marketing campaigns, consumer trends, marketing research and the latest updates from the Department of Tourism. They make it their goal to help industry members plug into the department as much as possible.
In addition, the team is responsible for organizing industry outreach events such as the annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism. They assist communities with destination development initiatives within the four key niche areas of agritourism, sports tourism, outdoor adventure tourism and tribal tourism. The team also oversees the state’s Interstate welcome centers and the hiring and training of the seasonal staff who work in them. Finally, the team is engaged in consumer research that assists the marketing team as they make decisions about target audiences and markets. The team also oversees the annual economic impact studies that demonstrate tourism’s impact on South Dakota’s economy.

- Primary industry point of contact
- Direct outreach and development initiatives
- Industry training content and programs
- Industry performance and reporting
- Oversee industry research and assessment

- Regional liaison (northeastern and southeastern regions)
- Community visits
- Training and professional development webinars
- Coordination of industry training workshops
- Co-op program promotion
- Product development strategy and facilitation

- Hospitality training programs
- National Travel and Tourism Week (NTTW) campaign and outreach
- Industry outreach events and initiatives
- Annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism
- Legislative outreach and relations program

- Regional liaison (western and central regions)
- Community visits
- Online hospitality training
- Coordination of industry training workshops
- Co-op program promotion
- Product development strategy and facilitation

- Interstate Welcome Centers
- Hiring and personnel management
- Management of daily Welcome Center operations
- Welcome Center employee training and familiarization tour coordination
- Welcome Center sales and co-op programs
- Welcome Center exhibits and visitor experience

- Great Face and Great Place hospitality recognition programs
- Industry database management
- Administrative assistant and receptionist