Will Coronavirus Affect South Dakota Tourism?

As preventative measures aim to slow the spread of the Coronavirus within the United States, the question remains, will Cornovirus have an effect on the important summer tourism season in South Dakota?

Dakota News Now spoke with Jim Hagen, Secretary of South Dakota Tourism.

"The bigger question is, how long will this last? Obviously the longer it goes on in terms of lack of travel, that definitely affects incomes, and jobs and revenue with everything else. But, we'll just see how this plays out. But, bottom line, no question this will have an impact," said Hagen.

How are leaders in the tourism industry preparing for any potential impact?

Teri Schmidt, Executive Director for Sioux Falls Convention & Visitors Bureau told Dakota News Now, "For right now it's business as usual. I say that again with us watching very closely as to what's going on. We encourage people to still keep us in their travel plans and we look forward to seeing everybody come on in."

Hagen said, "I would just really stress that at this point in time, there have been absolutely no edicts, no direction that we can't continue on with our travel indication plans."

The South Dakota Department of Tourism says around 90% percent of U.S. travelers are still going through with their vacation plans.

The Department wants to make it very clear that travel within the U.S. is safe.