Travel South Dakota’s Webinar Series offers useful & timely information relevant to the tourism industry. On this page, you’ll find information about future webinars, as well as recordings and presentations of previous webinars. If there’s a specific topic you’d like to see covered in a future webinar, please contact our Industry Training & Legislative Relations Manager, Bailey Tysdal.
NEXT WEBINAR:
Spring 2025 dates - coming soon
FUTURE WEBINARS:
Get ready to mark your calendars (and register) for all of the upcoming webinars in 2025. Additional details to be shared soon.
General notes for Travel South Dakota-hosted webinars:
This webinar will be available via Zoom. For most participants, you will simply need to click the link provided in the confirmation email to be able to join the webinar. If you are uncertain if you can connect, you can read about the system requirements on the Zoom website.
Once you call into the session, please turn your phone to mute during the webinar. Participants will be able to submit questions by typing them into the messaging functionality during the webinar. There will also be time for Q&A at the end of the session. (If you only want to listen and/or run into any problems with logging on to Zoom, phone-only access is an option.)
This webinar will be recorded and a link to the recording will be sent to participants following the presentation and will be available on SDVisit.com (see below).
Previous Webinars
Interstate Welcome Center Programs
Tuesday, December 10, 2024
Presented by: Shawntae "Shay" Moran, Travel South Dakota Welcome Center Manager
- Publication Program
- Digital Video Displays
- Takeovers
Webinar deck (PDF)
Wacipi 101: Visitor Etiquette
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Presented by: Dew Bad Warrior, Vice President of Black Hills Powwow
- What a wacipi/powwow is and what happens at these gatherings
- Different dance categories
- How to understand and appreciate everything happening around you
- How to be respectful and conduct yourself appropriately when attending a wacipi celebration
Big Stories, Local Connection: Enrolling Local & Regional Media To Be Your Biggest Ambassadors
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
Presented by: Jessica Foreman, Lou Hammond Group
- Finding your local storytelling channels & outlets: Where do I share news & who will tell the story?
- Defining your story to engage local media: What do they care about?
- Media and consumer friendly formats: How and when do I tell my story?
- Building relationships with media and, ultimately, your customer: It’s not one and done.
Webinar deck (PDF)
Accessible Tourism: Etiquette and Resources
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Presented by: Vicki Stewart, Sioux Falls Employment Disability Resources
- Learn how to interact more effectively with people with disabilities
- Discover ways to market your services to travelers with disabilities
- Increase your knowledge of key accessibility features
Webinar deck (PDF)
2023 Economic Impact of Tourism on Counties & Regions
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Presented by: Christopher Pike, Tourism Economics
- Recap on how the economic impact of tourism is measured
- Review of visitor spending by geographic region and county
- Explanation of how tourism’s impact varies between counties
Webinar deck (PDF)
DarkSky South Dakota
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Presented by: Diane Knutson & Teresa Hofer
- What light pollution is and why it is detrimental
- What you can do to preserve our dark night skies
- How others are working to solve the problems of light pollution
- The importance of dark skies to astrotourism
Forever 605
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Presented by: Mike Gussiaas & Calvin Bloemendaal
- Travel South Dakota's efforts to-date
- The industry toolkit and available swag/merch
- Plans for 2024 and beyond
Webinar deck (PDF)
Travel South Dakota's 2024 Marketing Plans
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Presented by: Mike Gussiaas
- In-depth look at Travel South Dakota's 2024 marketing efforts
- Review of consumer insights and advanced data efforts that drive the strategy
- opportunities available to tie into these marketing efforts
Webinar deck (PDF)
South Dakota Passports
Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Presented by: Krystal Rosado & Alexa Dorn
- About the goals & execution of the program and successes to-date
- How to get involved in the program and how to promote the passports
- What the future holds for upcoming passports
- How Bandwango passports benefit local businesses
- Common practices to make the best user experience
Webinar deck (PDF)
Agritourism
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
Presented by: Peggy Schlechter & Jacey Ellsworth
- Learn about updates to state law that benefit agritourism
- Hear from agritourism businesses about their experiences, challenges and triumphs
- Gain a better understanding of the benefits of agritourism
- Get an update on AgritourismSD
Webinar deck (PDF)
Cultural Tourism in South Dakota
Tuesday, October 3, 2023
Presented by: Seleni Matus, Sarah Kills in Water, Rilda Means, Calvin Bloemendaal
- Insights into the SDNTA's inception, objectives and impact
- How the SDNTA plans to evolve, adapt and expand in the future
- How the SDNTA is navigating challenges and embracing opportunities
- The symbiotic relationship between SDNTA and the tourism industry
- How to support and become involved with the SDNTA
Webinar deck (PDF)
How to Tell Your Story via the Media (Media Pitching 101)
Tuesday, September 19, 2023
Presented by: Campbell Levy, Lou Hammond Group
- How to create news around your attraction, destination or company, and get media coverage
- How to draft a captivating, media-worthy pitch
- The three components before writing a pitch for media
- The anatomy of a successful pitch
Webinar deck (PDF)
Travel South Dakota Stewardship Campaign - Forever 605
Thursday, June 15, 2023
Presented by: Jim Hagen and Mike Gussiaas
- Details about the new stewardship campaign, Forever 605
- Ways for industry partners to participate
- Plans for how this program may evolve in the future
Webinar deck (PDF)
South Dakota Resident Sentiment Study
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
Presented by: Amir Eylon, President & CEO of Longwoods International
- Why Resident Sentiment Matters
- What do the Residents of South Dakota think about Tourism in their state on a range of issues from tourism promotion, economic development, sustainability, workforce, etc.
- How does South Dakota compare to the national norms when it comes to Resident Sentiment
Webinar deck (PDF)
Travel South Dakota's 2023 Marketing Plans
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Presented by: Mike Gussiaas
- In-depth look at Travel South Dakota's 2023 marketing efforts
- Review of consumer insights and advanced data efforts that drive the strategy
- Discussion about the opportunities available to tie into these marketing efforts
Webinar deck (PDF)
Insights into the South Dakota Visitor
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
Presented by: Sindy Diab, Director of Research Accounts, MMGY Travel Intelligence (formerly DK Shifflet)
- Average Length of Stay
- Size of Travel Party
- Average Spend Per Visitor/Travel Party
- When Visitors Travel Here
- Primary Purpose of Trip
- Top Origin Cities
- Trip Satisfaction
Webinar deck (PDF)
Google Business Profile Training – Part 2
Tuesday, November 22, 2022
Presented by: Kim Palmer, Miles Partnership
- Leveraging photography
- Updating with posts>
- Responding to inquiries & questions
- Managing customer reviews
- Monitoring performance
Webinar deck (PDF)
Google Business Profile Training - Part 1
Tuesday, November 1, 2022
Presented by: Kim Palmer, Miles Partnership
- Why your Google profile is important to your business
- What’s new on Google
- Claiming your business on Google & key platforms
- Updating critical business data
- Increasing relevance with categories, attributes and menus
Webinar deck (PDF)
South Dakota Passports Program
Tuesday, October 18, 2022
Presented by: Erin Weinzettel
- Goals & execution of the South Dakota Passports program
- How to get involved in the program
- Insights learned so far
- What the future holds for upcoming passports
Webinar deck (PDF)
Department of Tourism 2022 Marketing Plans
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Presented by: Mike Gussiaas
- In-depth look at the state’s 2022 marketing efforts
- Consumer insights and advanced data efforts that drive the department’s strategy
- Opportunities available to tie into the department’s marketing efforts
Webinar deck (PDF)
Economic Impact of Tourism in South Dakota
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Presented by: Chris Pike, Tourism Economics
- How economic impact is measured
- Overall economic impact of tourism in South Dakota
- Overview of visitor spending by geographic region
- Changes in visitor spending by category
Webinar deck (PDF)
Media & Public Relations 101
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
Presented by: Andrea Braunstein, MMGY NJF, and Ciara Forest
- What is PR and the value of earned media?
- What makes something newsworthy
- Tips for crafting pitches and press releases
- A guide to vetting and hosting media (and influencers)
Webinar deck (PDF)
South Dakota Website User & Conversion Study
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
Presented by: Mytho Vo, Destination Analysts
- Who uses TravelSouthDakota.com for travel planning
- Website behaviors and key website performance metrics
- South Dakota trip details and behaviors
- The economic impact/ROI of TravelSouthDakota.com
Webinar deck (PDF)
Planning Quality Content: Drive Engagement on Social Media
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Presented by: Stephanie Palmer
- Engagement tactics
- Managing comments
- Defining your company's social media guidelines and standards
- Developing a content calendar
Webinar deck (PDF)
Department of Tourism’s Spring Update
Tuesday, April 20, 2021 and Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Presented by: Jim Hagen and Tourism staff
- General Department of Tourism updates
- Global Media & Public Relations updates
- Global Travel & Trade updates
- Industry Outreach, Development & Research updates
- Global Marketing & Brand Strategy updates
>Webinar deck (PDF)
Short Term Rental Properties in South Dakota
Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Presented by: Doug Schinkel (SD Dept. of Revenue)
- What taxes do shared rental businesses owe the state, municipalities, BID Boards, etc.?
- Are they actually paying these taxes? Who enforces this?
- How are these shared rental properties regulated? What laws are they subject to?
- What kinds of resources does the Dept. of Revenue have for the tourism industry to better understand how shared rentals are taxed and regulated?
Webinar deck (PDF)
International Markets 101
prerecorded in March 2021
Presented by: Alexa Dorn, Global Travel and Trade Representative
- Explore the target markets of United Kingdom, France, Benelux, Germany, Italy, Australia, Nordic, Canada, Japan, and China.
- Market info including vacation leave, economic spend, travel trends, visitor interest, and more.
Webinar Deck (PDF)
Department of Health COVID-19 Updates for Tourism Businesses
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
Presented by: South Dakota Department of Health
- Overview of COVID-19 in South Dakota
- Status update by region (specifically by retail and food industry)
- How businesses can protect staff and customers and prevent COVID-19
- Food/Restaurant guidance
- What to do if you have a positive case in your business
- Role of COVID-19 Testing
Department of Health COVID-19 Update webinar deck (PDF)
Explaining Travel Tradeshows
prerecorded in July 2020
Presented by: Cole Irwin, Global Travel and Trade Director
- Defining travel tradeshows
- Exploring different types of tradeshows
- Deciding which tradeshow is right for your business
- Preparing for your first tradeshow
- Following up after you attend a tradeshow
Why and How to Host Travel Trade Professionals to Your Business
prerecorded in July 2020
Presented by: Calley Worth, Global Travel and Trade Representative
- Defining familiarization tours
- Exploring different types of familiarization tours
- Why host a familiarization tour
- How to verify potential familiarization participants
- Day of familiarization tour
- Following up after you host a familiarization tour
Familiarization Tours Webinar Deck (PDF)
Contracting with International Travel Trade
prerecorded in July 2020
Presented by: Alexa Dorn, Global Travel and Trade Representative
- Defining travel trade terms
- Why you should work with the travel trade
- Explaining receptive operators
- Explaining the channels of distribution and pricing structure
- How to start
Contracting with International Travel Trade Webinar Deck (PDF)
COVID-19 Update
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Presented by: Secretary Hagen, Jaime Wood, Erin Francis-Cummings, Kelsey Waite, Tourism staff
- SBA and new relief programs
- Research on visitor sentiment and travelers’ thought processes from Destination Analysts
- Up-to-date statistics from Smith Travel Research
- Marketing and public relations efforts
- Governor Noem's "Getting Back To Normal Plan"
COVID-19 Update webinar deck (PDF)
Research, Marketing, and Industry COVID-19 Update
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
Presented by: Governor Noem, Secretary Hagen, Chris Davidson, Tourism staff
- Impact of COVID-19 on destination organizations
- COVID-19-related research
- Tourism's marketing efforts and rebound campaign
- Tourism's on-going PR efforts
COVID-19 Update webinar deck (PDF)
SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan Information for the Tourism Industry
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Presented by: various presenters
- Loan Application Process
- Required Documentation
- Loan Disbursements
- What Can the Funds be Used for
- Who is Eligible
- Business Resources and Assistance
SBA Loan Assistance Webinar Questions & Answers (PDF)
SBA & SBA Resource Partner Contact Information (PDF)
SBA Lenders in South Dakota (pp. 28-33 of the Small Business Resource Guide) (PDF)
Apprenticeships 101: Everything you Wanted to Know About Starting Your Own Apprenticeship Program
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Presented by: Samantha McGrath, South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation
- Learn the basics of apprenticeships
- Build a skilled workforce
- Fill job openings
- Help reduce employee turnover
South Dakota Week of Work
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
Presented by: Sec. Marcia Hultman, South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation
- Hear about the current workforce landscape of South Dakota, including youth participation rates
- Understand the importance of providing those first work-based learning experiences
- Learn how the South Dakota Week of Work can benefit your business and how to create activities
- Get updates on the Career Launch SD and Start Today SD initiatives
Revealing the South Dakota Visitor
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Presented by: Sindy Diab, Director of Research Accounts, MMGY Travel Intelligence (formerly DK Shifflet)
- Average Length of Stay
- Size of Travel Party
- Average Spend Per Visitor/Travel Party
- When they Travel Here
- Top Origin Cities
Webinar Deck (PDF)
Portrait of the America Traveler
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Presented by: Chris Davidson, EVP of Insights and Strategy, MMGY Global
- Travel Behavior and Intentions
- Demographics
- Destination Selection
- Media Usage
- Information Sources
Enhancing the Visitor Experience
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Presented by: Kirk Hulstein and Jacey Jessop
- Tips for good service before they arrive
- Making the first impression
- Observe the customers behavior and non-verbal signals
- Listening to Understand
- Dealing with Difficult Customers
Webinar Deck (PDF)
Marketing on a Budget
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Presented by: Erin Weinzettel and Mike Gussiaas
- Effective Partnerships
- Power of Word of Mouth & Brand Ambassadors
- Promotions, Negotiations & Enhancing Your Brand
Marketing on a Budget Webinar Google My Business Worksheet
Webinar Deck (PDF)
Business and Basics
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Presented by: Laura Mitchell and Mike Gussiaas
- Goals and Brand Identity
- Claiming your Online Property
- Making your Business Known
Business and Basics Webinar Brand Building Exercise
Business and Basics Webinar Claim Your Listings Worksheet
Webinar Deck (PDF)
Understanding Your Audience and Why it Matters
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Presented by: Kirk Hulstein and Matt Hammer
- Knowing your Audience
- Creating your Message
- Interacting with your Audience
UNDERSTANDING YOUR AUDIENCE & WHY IT MATTERS ONE-SHEET
Rise of the Hyper Informed Traveler
Wednesday, March 15, 2018
Presented by: Kirk Hulstein and Chris Adams
- Travel Media Landscape
- Sources of Information for Travelers
- How Americans Plan their Vacations
- Create and Distribute the Right Content
Webinar Slides (PDF)