The Great Faces of Travel

 
By: Gov. Larry Rhoden
May 2, 2025  

South Dakota is such a wonderful state that millions of visitors come every year to see it for themselves. And who can blame them? There’s something here for everyone in all seasons of the year.

I made my living in our state’s largest industry: agriculture. But because agriculture can be so up and down, it’s important that we have other thriving economic sectors. Variety helps keep South Dakota stable and growing – and our tourism industry is very helpful in that regard.

Every year in early May, we celebrate National Travel and Tourism Week. It’s a great opportunity to highlight the importance of tourism and thank the men and women who work so hard to facilitate travel for others. The data behind our travel industry is powerful, but it wouldn’t be possible without the smiling “Great Faces” behind checkout counters, giving tours, and sweating the small details so that our visitors don’t have to.

With that said, I’d like to share some of the powerful data that underscores just how crucial tourism is to our economy. Last year, 14.9 million visitors traveled to and within South Dakota. These visitors spent a whopping $5.1 billion dollars – that’s a new record!

There may be headaches associated with having so many tourists running around, but the benefits are huge. Tourism generated 17% of all state sales tax collections last year – that’s tax revenue that we get to charge to out-of-staters, rather than to South Dakotans. Tourists provided almost $400 million in funding to state and local governments. Without those visitors, each South Dakota family would have to pay an additional $1,100 in taxes – thank God that isn’t the case.

All that tourist spending supports the folks working in our travel industry. Nearly 60,000 jobs were directly supported by tourism last year. That means 60,000 South Dakota families were able to put food on the table and pay for the roof over their heads all because folks thought that our state was worth visiting. That’s pretty special!

As we get into the summer months, tourism is getting ready to kick into high gear for the year. Our natural beauty (the “Great Places”) draws them here in the first place, and our smiling people (the “Great Faces”) keep visitors coming back again and again.

So when you see those out-of-state license plates, try to smile about it. They’re choosing to spend time relaxing with their family in our backyard because it’s such a special place. They make lives just a bit better for us when they do!

And my advice to all our South Dakotans: get out and see something new this year. For instance, I recently talked to a lifelong South Dakotan who had just visited Aberdeen for the first time after nearly 40 years of life – and he enjoyed it! There’s so much to discover across our state, so please do. You’ll be glad you did!

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