State hopes vouchers lure visitors

PIERRE — The South Dakota Office of Tourism announced that it is rolling out a new incentive program for tourists leery of this year’s high gas prices.

Called “Twenty Bucks for the Road,” the campaign features a $20 voucher that will be given to visitors from select states. They can use the vouchers to buy ethanol-blend fuel at participating South Dakota retailers.

The state tourism office has partnered with the American Coalition for Ethanol and the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council in the new program.

Would-be visitors from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin can go to the Web site www.TravelSD.com and sign up to receive a voucher.

Officials said the tourism department has already received more than 10,000 requests for the fuel voucher generated by the marketing campaign.

“Our ‘Twenty Bucks for the Road’ program is an effective outreach tool to entice cost-conscious travelers to visit South Dakota and to increase awareness of ethanol,” Billie Jo Waara, director of the South Dakota Office of Tourism, said. “This program helps neutralize consumer perceptions that increasing gas prices will make travel too expensive.”  

On Monday, Waara and Gov. Mike Rounds unveiled a three-tiered, peak-season advertising campaign to showcase the diversity of the state’s tourism offerings and spotlight travel specials.

In tier-one markets, the tourism department is reaching out to potential travelers with image-based ads that build awareness of South Dakota and entice consumers who haven’t been to the state. Markets include Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Mo., and Milwaukee.

The tier-two campaign will concentrate on nearby markets, promoting weekend getaways in South Dakota. Markets are Des Moines, Iowa, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Omaha, Neb.

Tier-three efforts encourage residents of nearby states and South Dakotans to take quick weekend trips in South Dakota. Markets include Fargo, N.D., Sioux City, Iowa, and Sioux Falls.

“We have many great marketing and promotional efforts planned for the upcoming year and are looking forward to another increase in visitor spending,” Gov. Mike Rounds said. “The strategic, tiered approach is all part of Tourism’s efforts to tailor our message to the needs and wants of potential visitors revealed in focus group research and surveys,” he said.

The South Dakota Office of Tourism has also launched its redesigned and revamped consumer Web site. A trip-planner feature has been added to the Web site, which allows online travel planners to build an itinerary of travel plans in South Dakota.

Also, the tourism department is again collaborating this year with Rapid City’s Air Service Task Force, Black Hills, Badlands & Lakes Association, Black Hills Central Reservations and Deadwood Chamber and Visitors Bureau to market to the Dallas and Chicago metro areas.

The partnership promotes the Black Hills in television commercials, niche magazines and other print publications. Also, the task force is increasing its use of Internet-based marketing strategies to directly reach key consumers in these metro areas.