2010 Initiative Continued working on objectives of Goal 1. Progress/details can be found under headings below.

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1 Page 1 MEMORANDUM TO: Jim Hagen DATE: July 7, 2004 FROM: SUBJECT: Patricia Van Gerpen Tourism s June Monthly Status Report 2010 Initiative Continued working on objectives of Goal 1. Progress/details can be found under headings below. Reformatted and sent Great Faces. Great Places. music to Bureau of Information and Telecommunications (BIT) and the Governor s Office. Sent link to BIT for use on the state s homepage. Governor s Conference on Tourism Held meeting to brainstorm on theme, speakers, and session topics for annual conference in January. Researched potential speakers and sessions. Placed nomination forms for the Ben Black Elk and A.H. Pankow Awards on SDVisit.com. That site also contains a list of past winners and criteria for the awards. Rural Tourism Development The South Dakota Transportation Commission officially designated an extension to the Native American Scenic Byway as proposed by the Yankton Sioux Tribal Tourism Association. The route connects to the previously designated section at Chamberlain and proceeds south to the Nebraska border. Attended a Highway 212 Association meeting in Redfield, reestablished to attract more visitors to the communities along Highway 212. Briefed the group about Tourism s co-op programs and sent them information about reinstating the association through the Secretary of State s Office. Hosted a Fort Sisseton and Adams Nature Area promotions idea meeting with Department of Game, Fish and Parks. Public Relations Worked on follow-up to National Tourism Week campaign. Gathered comments for 2004 and began plans for Reviewed responses to trivia questions that were sent to the visitor industry during the week, contacted winners, and sent out prize package. Acquired jet skis for promotional use. Registered the watercraft and lined up a photo shoot with Governor Rounds. Continued working with representatives from Golf Digest and other golf writers on a hosting to locations either along the Missouri River or in the Black Hills Made arrangements for a media trip to ride the Lewis and Clark Trail along the Missouri River in July from Pierre to the Fort Thompson area. Developed itinerary and story ideas for travel writers for hiking, camping, and wildlife watching in the Badlands and Black Hills in July.

2 Developed itinerary for a travel writer, which included stops at all major attractions. Tourism s June Monthly Status Report Page 2 Worked with a Black Hills organization to increase awareness of the Mickelson Trail. Continued contacting media and finalizing individual schedules. Provided information and/or interviews to: Canadian Traveler; Sioux City Journal; Country Living; National Public Radio; St. Louis magazine; Western Horseman; American Cowboy; KAIL of Fresno, California; freelance journalists from Missouri, Connecticut, Michigan, and Minnesota; the Weather Channel; Clear Channel Radio, Siouxland; KSOO for story on group tour fam; writer for story on Minuteman Missile Historic Site; KOTA radio for story on Tourism Awards and travel tape rentals at Interstate Information Centers; South Dakota Public Radio; and Depot Radio. Press hits with circulation and estimated ad equivalence include: Rapid City Journal (35,465) three articles for ad equivalence of $9,374; Capital City Journal,(4,636) three articles for ad equivalence of $850; Sioux Falls Argus Leader (73,167) for ad equivalence of $3,202; Aberdeen American News (18,000) for ad equivalence of $964; The Palm Beach Post (190,831) for ad equivalence of $9,985; Grand Forks Herald (33,828) for ad equivalence of $1,262; and Western Horseman (218,587) for ad equivalence of $16,260. Online hits: New York Times, 4/30/04, Deadwood Cashing in on the Past by Mary Billard; and ABC News, 6/25/04, Striking it Rich Deadwood HBO show by Joe Kafka. Total ad equivalence is $41,897. Group Tour Worked on format of Group Tour Planning Guide, design of covers and divider pages, identified additional photo needs, and received new software for designing itinerary pages. Added an itinerary from the Alliance of Tribal Tourism Advocates and information on a mystery tour. Plan to bid the project in July. Reviewed partner information for group tour co-op ad. Will place ad in five publications: October issue of Western Group Tour Magazine (circ. 11,000), September/ October issue of Bank Travel Management (circ. 6,000), November/December issue of Packaged Travel Insider Magazine (circ. 10,000), November issue of Destinations (circ. 6,000), and December issue of Courier (circ. 6,000). Will order overrun of the piece to mail to 4,000 group tour operators on Tourism s database. Increased circulation of the co-op by 85 percent over The piece will be designed as an itinerary. Mailed 3,900 motorcoach regulation letters to domestic tour operators and bus companies on our database. Hosted familiarization tour for 2Nation Tours for 28 tour operators. Stops included sites in Rapid City, the Black Hills, and along I-90. Senator Arnie Brown, other state officials, Sioux Falls CVB, and Sioux Falls city officials hosted a reception at the Washington Pavilion. This tour has already resulted in bookings in Deadwood and a multi-night stay in Rapid City for future tour groups. Received notice that journalists from Germany have commissions for travel articles about South Dakota and will be joining the Buffalo Roundup in October. Assisted Heartland Tours, Nebraska, with itinerary helps for the group they are bringing in July to the Badlands, Wall, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Deadwood areas. Sent 37 Rocky Mountain International (RMI) Roundup leads, 70 Tourism Industry Association of America (TIA) Pow Wow leads from the South Dakota booth, and 41 leads from RMI s TIA pow wow booth to 607 South Dakota suppliers. Attended See America in London, and helped with tour operator trainings in Glasgow and Edinburgh with other RMI partners. Sent preliminary South Dakota itinerary to RMI for Special Traffic Fam from Benelux, to be held in September. Worked on arrangements for South Dakota portion of Donnavventura Fam from Italy in September and October.

3 Page 3 Sent requested information, tour helps, etc. to Fancy-Free Holidays, Illinois; Talbot Tours, Inc., Good Times Travel & Charters, and Gold Road Tours, California; Western Leisure, Utah; Wade Tours, New York; Nationwide Travelers, Wisconsin; Loke-Motion, Inc., Missouri; Rocky Mountain Holiday Tours, Colorado; Omni Travel, Nebraska; Michael Pohle, Germany; Travel Industry Association of America, Japan; Wings n Wheels and EurAM, Belgium; Manitoba Society of Seniors, CAA Travel, and Fehr-Way Tours Ltd., Canada; Ray, Poland; Robert Pauly, France; Gerda Sorenson, Denmark; Reiseburo Nyalatrek AG, Switzerland; and Gerome Kiemes, Luxembourg. AAA/CAA Sent message to 140 AAA offices around the country. Fulfilled requests for information from AAA/CAA offices and independent travel agencies from Ontario and Manitoba, Canada; plus California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. Outdoors Provided 2010 Initiative information to the South Dakota Game Bird Association, including how the Initiative and the outdoors are related. Worked with Southeast Birding Trail steering committee to choose a consultant for the guide. Assisted three communities in the bid process for outdoors writer s conferences: Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers (AGLOW) in 2006, and Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA) in 2008 or Attended OWAA Conference in Spokane, Washington. Set up booth during Registration Day festivities and met with media and industry personnel during the day. Held one- on-one meetings throughout the conference. Began making plans to attend Pheasant s Forever Pheasant Fest in January in Omaha. Tourism will again participate in the event and host a booth. Continued working on details for hostings: late season geese and pheasants in the Pierre area for six to eight journalists; filming for two TV shows for pheasant hunts in the Great Lakes for Benelli s American Safari and Beretta World; Gage Outdoors to bring media to the Chamberlain area for pheasants and waterfowl; Gooseview Industries and media on a late-season pheasant and waterfowl hunt in Gregory County; writers camp near Mitchell for upland hunting and product demonstrations have confirmed six writers, representing Shooting Sportsman, Sporting Clays, Double Gun Journal, Safari Magazine, Wall Street Journal, and Sports Afield; and International Falconry Association to attract media to their annual convention in Pierre in October. Provided information to media regarding Glacial Lakes fishing opportunities and fishing event in August. Hosted media on a June Fishing and Lewis and Clark Trail Fam in Pierre. Followed up with media and began acquiring articles from event. Provided information and/or interviews to: Permission to Hunt, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, Sioux City Journal, Fargo Forum, The Outdoorsmen, independent birding writer and tour operator, Gage Outdoors, Northland Adventures, Sports Afield, Wild Dakota, and various freelance journalists. Press hits with circulation and estimated ad equivalence include: Star Tribune (671,275 for Sunday) for ad equivalence of $16,305; Sioux City Journal (48,175) two articles for ad equivalence of $3,183; and North American Hunter (750,000) for ad equivalence of $37,000. Online hits include Outdoors with Dave Richey, 5/24/04, Head West for Pheasants. Total ad equivalence is $56,488. Information Centers The car count at the Information Centers for the month of May was up 4 percent over May 2003; for Canada, it was up 1.9 percent; and it was up 9.1 percent for all other international visitors. In May, 59 motorcoaches/buses stopped at the Information Centers, and eight were international.

4 Page 4 For May, travel tapes and CD usage at the Information Centers was up from May 2003 by 56.5 percent. Following are samples of comments from visitors: We had a great trip. We saw and did more then we expected too, mostly due to the help and information given to us by our staff. Good job! Ohio Wonderful service! We completely changed our plans based on the knowledgeable information we received. We were made to feel very welcome in South Dakota. Wisconsin Hospitality Reviewed nominations for hospitality recognition. Currently, 141 individuals/businesses have received the Governor s Certificate, 30 have received the foil star for a second recognition, and 12 have received a gold lapel pin for a third recognition. Coordinated the front-line training seminars with assistance from Cedar Shore Resort, Chamberlain-Oacoma Area Chamber of Commerce, Rapid City CVB, Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, Aberdeen CVB, Best Western Ramkota in Aberdeen, Sioux Falls CVB, and the Outdoor Campus. A total of 387 people were trained by Greg Holder president of Leadership Solutions. Hospitality training is one of the four parts of the Great Service Star program, and part of the criteria to qualify for the annual George S. Mickelson Great Service Award. Inquiries Total FY2004 Inquiries through : Mail: 94,332 Internet ( ): 98,518 Phone: 22,702 Total: 215,542 Total FY2003 Inquiries through : Mail: 92,504 Internet ( ): 89,246 Phone: 26,636 Total: 208,386 This is an overall increase in inquiries of 3.4 percent over FY2003. (This does not include hits/visits to Tourism s Web site.) Calculated number of page views at 1,197,416 on Tourism s TravelSD.com web site for the period of June 1-30, 2004, for a daily average (missing one day) of 41,290 over a 29-day period. This compares to calculated page views of 847,401 for the period of June 1-30, 2003, for a daily average (missing two days) of 30,264 over a 28-day period. This is an increase in daily average of page views of 36.4 percent over a comparable time period in Page views represents the number of times each and every page within the web site is accessed. Occupancy Data South Dakota Tourism Research Motel Occupancy Region May 2004 May 2003 Difference Southeast 56.8% 59.1% -2.3% Glacial Lakes & Prairies Great Lakes Black Hills/Badlands Statewide Avg South Dakota Tourism Research Motel Occupancy Region June 2004 June 2003 Difference Southeast 66.8% 75.8% -9.0% Glacial Lakes & Prairies Great Lakes Black Hills/Badlands Statewide Avg

5 Page 5 Lewis and Clark Promotions Sent notification of the next Lewis and Clark Corps of Rediscovery meeting to be held July 10 at the South Dakota Hall of Fame in Chamberlain. Agenda includes updates from trail communities on the progress of their events, the Signature Event, and Corp of Discovery II. Communities were asked to bring any event materials they wanted other communities to distribute. A tour of the South Dakota Hall of Fame will conclude the meeting. Continued compiling a Lewis and Clark database. Presented Lewis and Clark and Signature Event information at Chamberlain s Camp Pleasant Speaker Series at the Akta Lakota Museum. Participated in a meeting at the Akta Lakota Museum in Chamberlain to finalize details of the Art Show/Auction for the kickoff of the Signature Event. The Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota Art Show will be held at the Akta Lakota Museum on August 26, and the Art Auction and reception will be held at Cedar Shore Resort on August 27. Sealed bidding will take place in the afternoon, and bids will be opened and announced during the banquet on August 27. Spoke to the Winner Christian Women s Club about Lewis and Clark activities and unique attractions to visit in South Dakota. Attended Fischer s Lilly Park dedication in Fort Pierre, which was designated by the National Park Service as an official site along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. Sent packet of South Dakota Lewis and Clark information to conference organizers of the National Lt. Governor s Conference being held in Montana in July. The July 8 th dinner will focus on Lewis and Clark and what Lewis and Clark events are taking place in the next several years in the United States. Participated in an interview for South Dakota Public Radio s documentary on the Lewis and Clark Tail, which includes information on the role of Tourism throughout the bicentennial commemoration. Sent information and pictures to the National Lewis and Clark Council for use in the educational CD project underwritten by Qwest. The Lewis and Clark CD will be available from the National Council beginning with the First Tribal Council Signature Event in Nebraska the end of July. The CD will contain information about Lewis and Clark curriculum, the National Bicentennial exhibition, the Circle of Tribal Advisors, the Circle of Conservation Advisors, and information about each of the trail states. Native American Tourism Began designing layout of the Guide to Indian Reservations and Art. Worked on selecting photos for the inside pages. Plan to bid project in July. Photo/Video Increased use of the online photo gallery and digital database has decreased slide requests. Currently, we do not have a program to track use of images from the online gallery. Fulfilled requests for slides to State Publishing and Department of Game, Fish and Parks, Pierre; Southeast South Dakota Tourism and South Dakota magazine, Yankton; Lawrence and Schiller, Sioux Falls; and Krause Publications, Wisconsin. Ordered AC adapter for digital cameras that will allow cleaning of image sensors. Awards and honors: Senior photographer Chad Coppess was informed that six of his photos will be included in the South Dakota 24/7 book, to be published in September. He was contacted by KSFY as a possible candidate for Take This Job and Love It feature. Worked on updating photo files with scenics/people/events in Aberdeen, Badlands National Park, Chamberlain, Custer State Park, Deadwood, Faulkton, Hill City, Hot Springs, Hoven, Keystone, Mitchell, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Sioux Falls, Sturgis, Wall, and Watertown. Shot footage of the Native American Scenic Byway, Big Bend area, Capital City Queen, and Missouri River.

6 Page 6 Finalized plans for the 2005 TV commercial film shoot. Will reschedule shoots that were rained out. Filmed video of the crews and cameras at each location for our files, as production was ongoing. Fulfilled request for stock video footage to The Weather Channel. Travel Market Advertising Changed vendor for printing of Giant Step magazine insert due to business problems. Sent final files to new printer after updating Northwest Airlines logo and making copy change to a partner because of concerns on a sweepstakes offer. Drafted articles for spring/summer 2005 Giant Step. Placed insertion order for the 2004 Shoulder Season Great Getaways in following newspapers: Winnipeg Free Press, Manitoba; Marshall Independent, Worthington Globe, and West Central Sunday Reminder, Minnesota; Omaha World Herald; Bismarck Tribune; Des Moines Register Star and Sioux City Journal, Iowa; and Sioux Falls Argus Leader. Combined circulation is 860,000. There are 35 partners in this co-op. Notified partners in the South Dakota Road Trip co-op of the June schedule: Wildest Pair Vacation (Rapid City) Best Western Town & Country, Reptile Gardens, and Bear Country; Ride on the Wild Side (Custer State Park) Custer State Park Resort Company; Riverside Relaxation (Chamberlain) Cedar Shore Resort, Akta Lakota Museum, and Old West Trading Post; On the Trail with Lewis and Clark (Sioux Falls) Best Western Ramkota and the Washington Pavilion. Worked with Weather.com on an online campaign that included s and banner ads. Sent Travelsmart to 112,000 addresses. Message contained highlights of South Dakota s art galleries and museums; event highlights included pow wows, rodeos, music and art festivals, Shakespeare, and city celebrations. Updated address list and responded to several inquiries from mailing. Publications Redesigned and updated information in the Greenhorn s Guide to Paleontology and Archaeology. Ordered printing of copies to be distributed by special requests. It includes information of digs in which the public can participate or learn about South Dakota s resources and museums with interpretation of this type of history. Travel News Television Worked on editing TNT film footage, obtained voice talent for script, and worked with staff to get labels and cases done and in place. World Wide Web On TravelSD.com: Updated Visitor Services Director (VSD) to show 4,794 entries and posted ipix photos on those partner listings choosing this option. Will continue to schedule ipix photo shoots. Updated online vacation packages to show 147 packages and 39 coupons in 39 cities and 27 categories. Submitted packages to seeamerica.org. Updated Signature Event pages. Deleted or updated other entries/pages as needed. Continued making follow-up calls to the list of preferred partners regarding the 2004 Visitor Services Directory (VSD). Added travel bulletins to the rotation. On SDVisit.com: Updated pages with nomination forms for the 2005 tourism awards. Updated logo standards information. Deleted or updated other entries/pages as needed. Made anonymous visitor calls to package partners to determine level of response/package knowledge and entered information in database for a final report. Partners were notified of any unacceptable results in confidence. Sent online vacation package survey to all partners whose package(s) had expired. Will compile responses into a final report. Sent surveys to partners in the South Dakota Road Trip TV co-op. Will compile responses into a report. Reformatted buffalo footage, placed it online for viewing, and sent link to Lawrence and Schiller.

7 Page 7 Worked with Bureau of Information and Telecommunications to get the new web traffic software set up for Tourism s sites. Research Called contacts at events/attractions to gain permission to conduct surveys as part of the 2004 Intercept Study. Survey responses will be added to a database for compilation and a report. State Fair Held brainstorming meeting to discuss theme and booth design to carry-out the theme. Logo Usage/Image Requests Fulfilled request for South Dakota Made logos for wine label. Fulfilled request for logos to the Department of Health and a Vermillion screen printer. Gave permission and sent versions of the Great Faces. Great Places. music to Department of Transportation and the South Dakota Developmental Center for use in presentations. Mount Rushmore Independence Day Celebration Worked on media plan and reviewed copy for blasts for the event. Sent two notifications to 1,300 broadcast media and 1,200 print media. Updated the related pages on MediaSD.com and created new banners for the event. Placed satellite feed information on MediaSD.com. Contacted company to track hits of the event. Finalized arrangements with satellite truck for the July 3 rd news feed, received and distributed satellite coordinates for the feed, reserved truck parking space, and hired a second videographer to run video for the big video screens. Worked with Daktronics on setup for the big screens. Korean War Memorial Assisted with print coordination for water bottles. Drafted a production schedule for the programs and bid the project for the printing of 7,500 programs. Governor s Buffalo Roundup and Governor s Invitational Pheasant Hunt Received approval for Roundup invitation prototype. Worked with vendors and worked on design of inside pages and RSVP. Plan to mail in July. Researched and confirmed the participation of entertainment for the Governor s Hunt festivities. Great Shoulder Events Black Hills Horse Expo, March 20-21, Rapid City: Will compile report from evaluations. Frontier Days, August 20-22, White River: Sent files for rack card to printer. Sent copy for classified ad to Western Horseman for August issue. Sent blast to tour operators. Lewis and Clark Signature Event, August 26 through September 27: Received 20,000 copies of the Lewis and Clark Signature Event brochure. Distributed a portion of these brochures to sites along the river, and sent 4,000 of them to be inserted in the August issue of We Proceeded On, produced by the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. Mailed ticket, invite, and envelope files to vendor for printing. Created links from the event schedule to the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota art gallery on TravelSD.com. Added a travel bulletin for the event to TravelSD.com homepage. Uploaded Tourism s group tour database and sent event information in an blast. Black Hills Quilt Show and Sale, September 12-15, Hill City: Worked on promotions. Polka Festival, September 17-19, Mitchell: Worked on promotions. Fiddlers Jamboree, September 17-18, Yankton: Designed logo for the event and sent to local committee for approval. Designed button and poster and will route for approval/suggestions.

8 Page 8 Bad River Gathering, September 24-26, Fort Pierre: Sent files to place ads in Southwest Art and Native Peoples magazines. Pumpkin Fest, October 8-9, Webster: Worked on promotions. Last Chance Bonanza Rodeo, October 21-23, Brookings: Researched costs for publications and radio ads. Worked on budget and marketing plan. Department Funding Deadwood gaming revenue deposited for May 2004 was down 3.2 percent at $178,309, compared to $184,026 for May The tourism tax deposited for May 2004 was up 7.9 percent at $165,922, as compared to $153,793 for May The deposits for FY04 for gaming and the tourism tax are $6,565,383, as compared to $6,144,943 for FY2003. This is an overall increase in revenue of 6.8 percent for fiscal year 2004 over fiscal year 2003.