News Releases for October 2004
October 14, 2004
Contact: Sara Otte Coleman, 701-328-2525
Hoeven Plan Getting Results On Tourism, Rural And Nature Tourism
BISMARCK, N.D. - Don Canton, spokesman for the Hoeven administration, said Joe Satrom is clearly wrong regarding Gov. John Hoeven’s record on tourism, which is one of the fastest growing sectors of the state’s economy, and an industry the administration has targeted for further growth.
“We have a comprehensive plan for tourism in North Dakota, which includes rural and nature tourism,” Hoeven said. “We have all the players working together to make it happen, and we’re seeing real progress. The effort is well underway and exciting things are happening across our state.”
North Dakota’s Tourism Director, Sara Otte Coleman, pointed out the effectiveness of the state’s current overall tourism marketing effort, including rural and nature-based tourism:
- For every $1 the state spent on last year’s advertising campaign, North Dakota got a return of $83 in new tourism spending, ranking the efficiency of the program higher than the national norm.
- Seventy-five percent of the tourism budget goes directly to marketing North Dakota’s tourism industry.
- As a result, cumulative lodging tax revenues, the statewide hotel occupancy rate and statewide average daily room rate are up.
- Tourism is now North Dakota’s second leading industry, second only to agriculture.
State Parks and Recreation Director Doug Prchal, said, “State park development and improvements are being implemented system wide, with collaboration and funding from state, federal and local groups. Two good examples are our work with the Department of Transportation at Cross Ranch and our efforts to upgrade facilities at Beaver Lake State Park.”
Coleman said in addition the state has aggressively pursued rural and nature tourism as an integral and important part of the tourism mix in North Dakota, along with heritage tourism and leisure travel. Nature tourism describes travel to natural areas that conserve the environmental, social and cultural values of a location and provide opportunities for hiking, biking, birding and other outdoor recreational activities.
“The North Dakota Tourism Development Plan for North Dakota’s Recreational, Cultural and Historic Attractions is a comprehensive vision that is focused on developing the state’s unique natural beauty and historic richness, including a framework for rural and nature tourism,” said Coleman. “The plan includes partnering with agencies and organizations on the state, local and federal level to enhance tourism in all geographical areas of North Dakota.”
Prominent partners include, for example, the North Dakota Division of Tourism, Parks and Recreation, the Game and Fish Department, State Historical Society, National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service, Coleman said. The Tourism Division is also working with regional organizations across North Dakota, such as the Turtle Mountain Tourism Association, the Rendezvous Region, Central Dakota Tourism, West River Tourism, the Red River Valley Attractions Association, the newly formed North Dakota Nature and Rural Tourism Association, and more than 30 state convention and visitors bureaus. “We are focusing on the uniqueness of each area,” Coleman said.
The plan is in place and we’re already seeing results, according to Coleman.
- In eastern North Dakota, the Game and Fish Department has launched a 6,000-acre, $1 million expansion of the Greenway on the Red, which will preserve scenic sites along the river for wildlife management, hunting, canoeing, hiking, bird watching and other recreational activities.
- In the Pembina Gorge and Turtle Mountain region, the Parks and Recreation Department has launched an unprecedented, comprehensive study of the recreational trails needs, which will identify potential trail corridors to expand nature tourism in one of the most picturesque regions of North Dakota.
- In western North Dakota, the state and the National Park Service are partnering to expand the Maah Daah Hey Trail, a 96-mile non-motorized natural corridor open for biking, hiking, horseback riding and other nature-oriented activities. The trail begins approximately five miles south of historic Medora, and meanders north through the South and North units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the Little Missouri National Grassland.
“Governor Hoeven’s vision takes full advantage of North Dakota’s remarkable natural beauty, abundant wildlife and historic past, from the Red River Valley to Medora and Fort Union south of Williston,” Coleman said. “That is already producing more inquiries and more visits to our state.”
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