Travel South Dakota is preparing to celebrate National Travel & Tourism Week 2023 (NTTW), May 7-13. The 2023 NTTW theme is “Travel Forward” and it recognizes the industry's role in keeping our communities vibrant, serving as a local and global economic driver, rebuilding our workforce, and reconnecting America.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of NTTW and we continue to build upon decades of work to amplify what we all know to be true — travel is integral to everything we do. Your engagement is crucial to magnifying this message and moving #TravelForward. Because travel fuels every industry, our success is South Dakota's success. Let's work together to make sure policymakers understand the value of our industry, and partner with us to help move #TravelForward.
Ways to Engage
As a department, Travel South Dakota will:
- Host Betsy Allen-Manning for free Spring Hospitality Training in Hot Springs, Spearfish, Rapid City, Fort Pierre, Sioux Falls, Watertown and Yankton (May 8-11).
- Attend events held around the state, including
- Annual Dinner, Meeting & Awards Gala (Hill City, April 29 - RSVP deadline: April 21)
- Southeast South Dakota Literature Drop (Sioux Falls, May 3)
- Visit Rapid City Travel Rally Day Breakfast (Rapid City, May 9 - registration deadline: April 30)
- Visit Rapid City Presentation & Industry Awards (Rapid City, May 9)
- Parks & Attractions Exchange hosted by Black Hills & Badlands (Rapid City, May 9)
- Black Hills & Badlands Literature Swap (Rapid City, May 9 - registration deadline: May 5)
- Experience Sioux Falls Visitor Industry Luncheon (Sioux Falls, May 9)
- GOVERNOR NOEM PRESS CONFERENCE (Reptile Gardens, Rapid City @ 10 a.m. MT, May 10)
- Glacial Lakes & Prairies Literature Drop (Watertown, May 10 - registration deadline: April 14)
- South Dakota Missouri River Literature Drop (Pierre, May 11)
- Dakota Plains Gallery & Gifts Open House (Chamberlain, May 11)
- NTTW Open House (Spearfish, May 12)
- Conduct media calls during the week.
- Arrange for sites and attractions across the state to be lit up in red in celebration of NTTW, including:
- Storybook Land, Aberdeen
- Children’s Museum of South Dakota, Brookings
- McCrory Gardens, Brookings
- Visit Brookings, Brookings
- Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer (May 12)
- Bad River Bridge, Fort Pierre
- The Mammoth Site, Hot Springs
- The World’s Only Corn Palace, Mitchell
- The Farr House, Pierre
- The Monument, Rapid City
- The Rushmore Hotel, Rapid City
- Main Street Square, Rapid City
- Arc of Dreams, Sioux Falls
- Falls Park, Sioux Falls
- Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls
- Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, Sioux Falls
- Woodburn Hall at BHSU, Spearfish
- The Buffalo Chip, Sturgis
- Rush-No-More Campground, Sturgis
- DakotaDome, Vermillion
- Sanford Coyote Sports Center, Vermillion
- Receive an Executive Proclamation and video message from Governor Noem.
- Run a fun social media campaign that brings awareness to the important role that the tourism industry plays - supporting local businesses, creating jobs for South Dakotans, and inspiring people to live, work and play in our great state.
- Share tips and tools with the industry to aid promoting NTTW on the local level, including:
- list of Talking Points
- sample Op-Ed column
Here's a week's worth of ideas for industry involvement:
SUNDAY - MAY 7
- Kick-off by posting the NTTW video on social.
MONDAY - MAY 8
- Highlight the week with a press release or blog.
TUESDAY - MAY 9
- Download and share the special 40 years of NTTW video or GIF.
WEDNESDAY - MAY 10
- Issue a proclamation alongside a local official.
THURSDAY - MAY 11
- Host a travel rally with local partners.
FRIDAY - MAY 12
- Throw an appreciation event for your travel workforce.
SATURDAY - MAY 13
- Recap an impactful week on social.
Plus, more ways to engage from the U.S. Travel Association.
For even more ideas for participating in NTTW, visit the U.S. Travel Association website. It's where you will find templates to assist with reaching out to media and elected officials, as well as how-to guides on ways to celebrate during the week.
FOR INFORMATION
For more information, please contact Bailey Carlsen, Industry Training & Legislative Relations Manager, at 605-773-3301 or [email protected].