The Industry Relations, Development & 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 Travel South Dakota. 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. 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 responsible for tracking and reporting travel indicators and also oversees the annual economic impact studies that demonstrate tourism’s impact on South Dakota’s economy.