The Visitor Beat

Welcome to The Visitor Beat, the monthly newsletter of Experience Sioux Falls. Stay up-to-date on what's going on locally in the travel industry, as well as what's trending nationally.

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Annual Hunters Welcome

Experience Sioux Falls (ESF) will be at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport October 17-18 for its annual Hunters Welcome event to greet hunters flying into Sioux Falls for opening day of the pheasant hunting season in South Dakota. Several other businesses will be joining the fun to welcome the hunters and promote their offerings.

ESF still has a couple of vendor spots available if you are interested. This is a great opportunity to get your business in front of thousands of people.

Sioux Falls Wins 2025 National Jump Rope Championship Bid

ESF is excited to announce that Sioux Falls has been chosen out of 80 cities to host the 2025 American Jump Rope Federation National Championship!

After 8 months of working with the Federation’s event planner, including a site visit to the city, Sioux Falls was chosen. Approximately 300 jumpers will compete from all over the country. Families and friends follow the event to watch their participant. Around 1,000 people are expected to attend.

Jump rope is currently being considered for the Olympics which is bringing much attention to the sport. Many of the 2025 jumpers will be working toward the goal of participating in the Olympics, should jump rope be approved to be an Olympic sport.

The Federation’s mission is to enhance the sport of jump rope in the United States through alignment with best practices in sports integration of modern technology, growth in communities and continual innovation in competition.

The 2025 Championship will be held at the Elmen Center at Augustana University, June 28 - July 3, 2025.

Shoulder Season Marketing Efforts

ESF has wound down its peak season marketing campaigns and has begun to ramp up marketing efforts for the shoulder season, or the fall and winter seasons which are typically a little slower when it comes to tourism.

As a region with four distinct seasons, there truly is something new to experience year-round in Sioux Falls, and ESF is eager to spread the message. One way ESF is promoting travel to the city during the fall season is with advertising placements of the video below.

South Dakota Governor’s Conference on Tourism Award Nominations

Mark your calendars for the annual South Dakota Governor's Conference on Tourism which will be held January 21-23, 2025, in Pierre. Conference registration and more information will be forthcoming.

Each year during the conference, awards are presented to outstanding members or organizations that have contributed to the state’s visitor industry.

Five of the awards are based on peer nominations, so get your nominations in for those who deserve to be recognized for their work in the travel and tourism industry. The deadline to submit nominations is November 26, 2024.

Governor’s Tourism Rising Star Award
Recognizes an individual who has worked in the South Dakota tourism industry for 2-4 years and excels at their job, is passionate about the industry’s growth and importance, is engaged on the local and state levels, and will make a positive difference in the future.

Ben Black Elk Award
Recognizes an individual who has made tireless and outstanding contributions to the state’s tourism industry.

A.H. Pankow Award
Recognizes a member of the media or public relations industry who has shown superior interest in and coverage of the South Dakota tourism industry.

Peter Norbeck Excellence in Tourism Innovation Award
Awarded to a member of the South Dakota tourism industry for innovative marketing, special promotions, or improvements to their business or attraction that elevates the visitor experience and catches the attention of the visitor industry.

Ruth Ziolkowski Outstanding Hospitality & Customer Service Award
Recognizes members of the of the South Dakota tourism industry who, like Ruth Ziolkowski, provide remarkable service to every visitor he or she encounters, and whose work demonstrates an outstanding spirit of hospitality, warmth and genuine kindness.

George S. Mickelson Award
Honors businesses, communities, or organizations that have done an exemplary job of exceeding visitors’ expectations in customer service.

New Online Training Program

In case you missed it, ESF recently rolled out a new online training program intended for frontline hospitality staff that have frequent interaction with guests. The training includes a quiz on customer service and a quiz on Sioux Falls attractions.

The entire training program is designed to be a fun, interactive opportunity to freshen up on customer service rules of thumb and learn about Sioux Falls along the way. You can even earn yourself a Sioux Falls t-shirt if you score high enough!

Learn more about the online training program in this SiouxFalls.Business article.

Southeast South Dakota Marketing Summit

Southeast South Dakota recently held its first ever Marketing Summit in Sioux Falls at the Outdoor Campus. Attractions, shops, economic development, tourism, and more were represented at the half day event. The Marketing Summit gave attendees an opportunity to connect and learn about potential opportunities to optimize their business strategies.

ESF Director of Marketing, Krista Orsack, participated on a panel discussion to share her knowledge and offer insights alongside Ryan Friez of Thunder Road, Christy Heckathorn of Fleurish Flower Farm, and Laura Mitchell of Lawrence & Schiller.

Add Your Event to ExperienceSiouxFalls.com

Do you have an event that visitors to Sioux Falls might enjoy? Submit it to ExperienceSiouxFalls.com/Events. Visitors are always looking to see what’s going on during the days of their visit, and the Events page on ExperienceSiouxFalls.com is one of the top visited pages on the site each month, so don’t miss out on getting your event in front of visitors.