Bart Pfankuch/South Dakota News Watch
KEYSTONE, S.D. – Members of the Foley family of Green Bay, Wisconsin, are the quintessential visitors that tourism officials and operators hope will push South Dakota to a successful 2026 tourism season.
The family of four drove 12 hours from home for a weeklong tour of the Black Hills of South Dakota in late April and refused to let high gas prices, inflation or a soft national economy delay or postpone their visit.
The Foleys usually fly to a beach destination each spring but chose to drive somewhere this year, mostly because their 15-year-old dog named Doc Holliday couldn’t be left at a kennel. They settled on the Black Hills because it is a drivable destination with a wide range of sights and experiences.
“It’s our family trip, so if we needed to pay a little more for gas, it’s no big deal,” said Ryan Foley, who had just finished a scenic helicopter flight in Keystone with wife Alexis and daughters Amelia and Mabel.
While it may seem counterintuitive, South Dakota tourism secretary Jim Hagen said the Rushmore State’s extensive travel industry could actually benefit from higher gas prices.
In an interview with News Watch, Hagen said South Dakota has outperformed other states in prior years when gas prices were high or rising.
Furthermore, recent national surveys show that 90% of Americans said they will travel this summer despite higher costs, and that many are considering driving to a destination rather than flying, Hagen said.
“They want to travel regionally, and they’re opting for that over more expensive, long-haul air travel trips or more expensive, longer road trips,” he said. “They’re going to travel to destinations that are closer to home. And the silver lining is that South Dakota is seen as a regional-drive market and because we really are the ultimate road trip destination.”
After their trip to the state, the Foleys appear to agree.
Ryan Foley owns a real estate firm and Alexis is a school counselor, so the Foleys had a solid but not extravagant spending budget. In the Black Hills, they were able to pack a ton of experiences into their visit, including stops at Wind Cave National Park and Mount Rushmore National Memorial, and scenic drives on the Needles Highway and through Custer State Park.
They stayed in an Airbnb rental, ate at local restaurants and “received good value for our dollar,” Ryan Foley said.
“It’s been affordable, but the most important thing was being together with the family, and seeing all this,” he said. “These are memories we’re going to have forever.”
Nation’s birthday a potential tourism driver
The 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, also known as the country’s semiquincentennial, will be celebrated across the state this summer.
As a result, Hagen sees strong tourism potential for South Dakota, both by residents and visitors.
Surveys show a majority of potential travelers are interested in American history, and that visitation to national parks is up 18% so far this year, which bodes well for a state with a patriotic vibe and several parks and monuments.
Rapid City, which promotes itself as the City of Presidents, will capitalize on the country’s 250th anniversary with the Real America Birthday Bash planned for downtown on July 1-4. The U.S. Air Force Academy band will play on July 1, drone shows are slated for July 2-3, and a parade and fireworks show are on the calendar. The festivities will include vendors, food trucks, a beer garden and live music shows.
The Black Hills region as a whole hopes to benefit from the nation’s big birthday, including the fireworks show planned for Mount Rushmore on July 3. Gov. Larry Rhoden has invited President Trump, but no official announcement has been made.
“With the 250th and the fireworks, we’re hoping for a good season,” said Keystone clothing store owner Bria Dillavou.
With some uncertainty looming for summer 2026, Dillavou ordered the typical number of products for the two stores she owns with husband Corey – Mackabee Boutique and Mount Rushmore T-shirts – in the Keystone Mall just down the hill from Mount Rushmore.
“In general, vendors nationwide have been offering a lot more patriotic gear and souvenirs this year,” she said as she unpacked shirts in her store.
Dillavou said she hears from a lot of tourists from the East who stop in Sioux Falls and the Black Hills on their way to points west, including Yellowstone National Park.
“Our experience has been that people are still taking family trips, especially if they can drive to their destination,” she said.
Major events across the state in 2026
While the Black Hills may benefit from the 250th and, as usual, from the 86th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally on Aug. 7-16, tourism operators elsewhere across the state are optimistic for a strong year.
Sioux Falls is increasingly seen as a strong regional tourism market for shoppers and “foodies” who enjoy varied cuisines, said Teri Schmidt, CEO of Experience Sioux Falls.
The city and the rest of eastern South Dakota are attractive for visitors who want a family-friendly place to attend a wide range of annual events, including the Rock the Country Music Festival in late June, and the Sioux Falls Airshow and Hot Summer Nites car show in July.
Hunting, fishing, camping and other outdoor activities remain major draws for other East River locales, including the Glacial Lakes area in the northeast and the Missouri River in the central and southeast parts of the state.
Travel South Dakota, the tourism agency led by Hagen, spent most of its roughly $13 million advertising budget on neighboring states or markets that have shown success in the past, such as Chicago. Visits by Canadians remain down for the second year amid an ongoing trade war and vows by President Donald Trump about annexing the nation’s northern neighbor.
South Dakota what would be considered a so-so year for tourism in 2025, with 15 million visitors spending an estimated $5.2 billion, a 1.1% increase in revenues over 2024.
Other than the COVID-19 slowdown in 2020, when the state saw 12.6 million visitors spend $3.4 billion, South Dakota has seen a slow but steady rise in both categories over the past decade.
Visit South Dakota touts the fiscal power of the state tourism industry with a list of data points on its website. The agency said tourism generated 4.7% of the state’s overall economy and 16.5% of all state sales tax collections last year, a total of $406 million. The agency said that tourism supports more than 59,000 jobs and that without tourism, each South Dakota household would have paid $1,121 more in taxes in 2025.
Hagen said that last year, economic concerns caused trepidation among tourists, a sentiment not shown in traveler surveys this year.
“This year, I think people are like, ‘We’ve had it. Let’s get out, let’s go have fun, let’s travel, even if they’ll be looking for good value along the way,” he said.
And yet, some concern over gas prices
Schmidt said she and other tourism officials are keeping a wary eye on the national economy, which has been soft.
“The things that worry us are gas prices, airline prices and the overall economic condition of the country,” Schmidt said. “If gas goes to 5 bucks a gallon, we don’t know how people are going to respond and we could be looking at a much different situation.”
Schmidt said tightening consumer budgets could prompt some visitors to shorten planned visits or cull back typical spending levels. The early months of 2026 have been flat or only slightly up for visits and tourism spending, which will put more pressure on tourism businesses to have a strong summer to raise revenues into the black, she said.
Experience Sioux Falls has broadened its marketing efforts beyond the typical five-state neighboring region and more into the national market to potentially attract new tourists in addition to those who have visited in the past. Sioux Falls and South Dakota overall provide very good value for the tourism dollar, which will help during a challenging economy, she said.
“Our marketing has been strong, if not stronger than ever, but the competition for the tourism dollar also remains strong,” Schmidt said.
To date, visits to the Experience Sioux Falls website have been up, providing Schmidt and others with some hope. “Are we concerned? Of course we are. But we’re also very optimistic,” she said.
A boost in the spring and fall?
Michelle Thomson, CEO of the Black Hills & Badlands Tourism Association, said the high cost of living and rising fuel prices could drive more tourists to travel in the spring and fall shoulder seasons, when they anticipate lower prices.
Travelers are also more indecisive and are waiting longer to make reservations, which can add stress to tourism operators who like to see things booked out well in advance.
Rapid City and the Black Hills should see a strong year for revenue, with the Sturgis rally and the nation’s 250th birthday leading the way, Thomson said.
“With the 250th, we have the potential to bring in people from across the country because we have such a patriotic experience here, and that’s not just the fireworks,” she said.
Thomson said national research shows that potential visitors are aware that the price of a vacation is rising but also that they aren’t overly concerned.
“People are anticipating spending more, but they want to have those experiences and are willing to pay a little bit more for it,” Thomson said.