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 & 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 within the three key niche areas of agritourism, outdoor recreation and native 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 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.
- Directs outreach and development initiatives
- Oversees Industry performance and reporting
- Oversees research initiatives and economic impact studies
- Oversees Native Tourism development initiatives
- Regional liaison (northeastern and southeastern regions)
- Community visits
- Coordination of industry training workshops
- Co-op program promotion
- Product development strategy and facilitation
- Oversees Agritourism development initiatives
- Oversees TAP Grant program
- Coordinates tourism conference sponsors & exhibitors
- Regional liaison (western and central regions)
- Community visits
- Coordination of industry training workshops
- Co-op program promotion
- Product development strategy and facilitation