Making Data Delightful

helping data do more

Data guides decisions. It’s more than a benchmark for how the state is doing — it supports tourism’s reason for existence and proves ROI from tourism tax revenue.

If data can do this much, it needs to be seen — by the South Dakota tourism industry, legislators, government officials and national travel leaders. And if we can get those stakeholders excited about the data and the work we do in tourism, that’s a story worth telling.

Beyond being seen, we also wanted our data to make people smile, think or dig deeper. So, inspired by the passion of our state, we launched the quarterly Travel Insights email series with one goal in mind: make the research and reports as interesting as the great places and great faces of South Dakota. After all, if tourism should be fun, so should our emails.

emails that entertain

Four times a year, we began emailing Travel Insights updates to a list of tourism stakeholders, both in-state and nationally. Each email has its own theme, often tying into current events or pop culture. For example, one email piggy-backed on the “big international winter sports event” that we can’t legally name, featuring GIFs of snowboarders, scorecards and, a personal favorite, curling. Other versions worked in summer dad jokes, blockbuster movies, Halloween spookies and classic video game references. They all featured attention-grabbling looping GIFs, adding playfulness and lighthearted puns to the numbers.

The goal — as always — is to lead stakeholders of all kinds to SDvisit.com, the state’s industry-facing website, where people can find way more research and reports. From state park visitation to airport arrivals, we made the latest and greatest numbers available to anyone at a moment’s notice.

open season

Over multiple sends, the Travel Insights emails have struck a chord with industry leaders, getting them to stop, drop and open our messages.

Even better are the responses the Insights Email series got from the industry.

Like what you see? Sign up for our official travel newsletter, with trends and tidbits specific to the tourism industry.