July 1: Tourism Tax Increases to 1.5%
The half of a percent increase to the tourism tax goes into effect Wednesday, July 1. According to the law passed during the 2009 Legislative Session, the increase is in effect until June 30, 2011.

The Business Tax Division has more information about this increase and is available to answer questions.

South Dakota Department of
Revenue & Regulation
Business Tax Division
For more information, contact
bustax@state.sd.us
or
800-829-9188

Shoulder Season Great Getaways
The 2009 Shoulder Season Great Getaways registration information was mailed on June 5. This year's program will accept 36 partners on a first-come, first-served basis. The deadline is June 22. More information, the registration form and an option to pay via credit card (Visa or MasterCard) can be found on www.SDVisit.com.

Visitor and Industry Relations
For more information, contact
Natasha Bothun
at
Natasha.Bothun@state.sd.us
or
605-773-3301

Million Dollar Challenge
The next due date for applications to be submitted is June 25. Applications are available at www.SDVisit.com. Please be sure to review the program requirements before submitting your application.

Visitor and Industry Relations
For more information, contact
Nicole Gall
at
Nicole.Gall@state.sd.us
or
605-773-3301

Bring Tour Operators to Your Business
TIA Pow Wow, ITB and French Mission tour operator leads have been emailed. If you did not receive them, please email Trade Sales and Marketing team intern Steve Nelson with complete contact information, including your email address. If you do not have access to email, please contact Steve so that he can mail the leads to you. Watch your inboxes as TAP leads will be coming soon (the show was May 31-June 4 in Rapid City).

Trade Sales and Marketing
For more information, contact
Steve Nelson
at
Stephen.Nelson@state.sd.us
or
605-773-3301

Final Social Media Seminar
Tourism's marketing agency-of-record, Lawrence & Schiller, concludes their free, ten-week webinar series on social media on Tuesday, June 16, at 10 a.m.

The full schedule and an archive of the previous seminars are available at www.l-s.com/bootcamp/schedule/. Interested persons may register for the final seminar at www.l-s.com/bootcamp.

Coming Up...

June 16, 10 a.m. CDT
Social Design: The Bridge
for Maximum Engagement

How are You Going Green?
Please let us know what steps you're taking to "go green." Or, if you know of a good educational resource, please pass it along to us so we can share it with others in the industry.

Things already happening on a local level:

Sioux Falls Green Project - www.siouxfallsgreenproject.com

Plain Green Conference, Sioux Falls - www.plaingreen.org

Green Brookings - greenbrookings.wikispaces.com

Visitor and Industry Relations
For more information, contact
Nicole Gall
at
Nicole.Gall@state.sd.us
or
605-773-3301

Welcome Tourism Interns!
Please join us in welcoming the South Dakota Office of Tourism 2009 summer interns:

Kayleen Stoeser from Fort Pierre joins the Media and Public Relations team. She attends Augustana College, with a double major in Government & International Affairs and Business Administration.

Steve Nelson from Pierre joins the Trade Sales and Marketing team. He attends the University of South Dakota and is majoring in Contemporary Media and Journalism.

Meghan Conway from Pierre joins the Visitor and Industry Relations team as the intern for Information Centers. She attends South Dakota State University, majoring in Public Relations.

Nellie Bloomberg is from Pierre and joins the Visitor and Industry Relations team for a second summer. She attends South Dakota State University, majoring in Consumer Affairs/Hotel and Food Service Management.

Office of Tourism
For more information,
contact
605-773-3301
or
711 E Wells Avenue
Pierre, SD 57501

Important Reminders
Ask SD Tourism
The date and time of this year's final "Ask South Dakota Tourism" session:

   July 17 - Milbank - Milbank Visitor Center (East Highway 12) - 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
                   (During the Glacial Lakes & Prairies board meeting)

2009 Great Events
The first Great Event of 2009 is the South Dakota Outdoor Expo going on in Huron, June 13-14.

What Our Visitors Are Saying...
From a letter sent to the Governor's Office by a recent visitor:

"Our main reason for contacting you was to compliment the people of South Dakota on their attitude, politeness and overall friendliness."

- Tish & Bob, Alberta, Canada