Where is the meeting point of accessible and sustainable in the world of tourism? Visit Rapid City put that question to a collection of local business leaders and elected officials at the Hive downtown.
Visit Rapid City said they want to keep the tourism industry turning while also making sure that business is sustainable to those who have built their lives here.
In the words of Tina Valdecanas, a tourism industry consultant, it’s about more than heads in beds.
“When we’re talking about the destination stewardship plan and how we plan to care for the community we want our stakeholders, we want our community, to understand for Visit Rapid City this means more than just what we call the traditional tourism hurdle,” Valdecanas said. “It means thinking through what the impacts are of the visitors that come and visit us. What impacts they have on our residents and all the different communities within our area.”
It’s a balancing act. Stacie Granum, chief strategy officer for Visit Rapid City, said they don’t want to “love the community to death.”
“We really want to make sure that the tourism initiatives that we’re implementing moving forward are having a positive impact, but we’re looking at long-term sustainability,” Granum said. “In 2021, it was a record-breaking tourism year – a lot of visitations – but there was other challenges too.”
Things like workforce and public safety were discussed, but the ever-present issue of housing in Rapid City persists. According to numbers shared by Elevate Rapid City, there are over 800 units and homes off the market as a direct result of short-term rental programs like AirBnb.
Granum said short-term rentals need to be considered as a piece of the puzzle.
“Short-term rentals are part of the industry and they’re probably not going anywhere,” Granum said. “We just want to support healthy growth in our community and in the tourism industry, so however we can provide insight or data we’re happy to, but we don’t have an answer for that challenge. We do know there’s definitely a place for them in our community – it’s just what does that look like?”
Granum said travelers still view the Black Hills as a priority destination despite gas prices and inflation being battles this summer.