Visit Rapid City Delivers $7 Million in Economic Impact from Meetings
Through its business development efforts, Visit Rapid City helped deliver an economic impact of $7 million to the local Rapid City economy in 2024.
“Meetings and group business are vital to Rapid City’s year-round economy,” said Brook Kaufman, CEO of Visit Rapid City. “Through Visit Rapid City’s robust and strategic marketing efforts, we’re able to bring a healthy mix of both business and leisure travel to Rapid City.”
During 2024, Visit Rapid City’s efforts resulted in 40 booked groups and 10,000 room nights, with notable group business that included:
- National Indian Health Board – 2024 National Tribal Health Conference (1,200 attendees)
- World Wilderness Congress – 2024 Wild12 (600 attendees)
- Dakota Transit Association – 2024 Fall Conference and Roadeo (450 attendees)
- South Dakota Association of County Commissioners – 2024 SD County Convention (400 attendees)
- Church of God, a Worldwide Association – 2024 Feast of Tabernacles (800 attendees)
- Tau Beta Pi Association – 2024 Annual Convention (520 attendees)
- Rocky Mountain Association of Fairs – 2024 Annual Convention (300 attendees)
- Indian Health Service – 2024 Meeting (300 attendees)
“Rapid City is a great destination for meetings,” said Tyson Steiger, Director of Sales for Visit Rapid City. “With four distinct seasons, plenty of inventory and a community that’s historic and welcoming, groups can create high value meetings, leaving attendees with incredible memories from South Dakota.”
Looking ahead to 2025, Rapid City is anticipating another strong year, with 10,258 projected room nights and an economic impact of $5 million. Contracted groups for 2025 include the American Indian Higher Education Consortium – 2025 Annual Student Conference, National Association of Counties (NACo) – 2025 Western Interstate Region Conference, State Bar of South Dakota – 2025 Annual Convention, National High School Athletic Coaches Association – 2025 National Coaches Meeting and United Church of God – 2025 Feast of Tabernacles, to name a few.
Rapid City welcomes groups from various sectors and sizes, including agricultural, medical, government, trade association, fraternal organizations and reunions, with meeting attendance that ranges from 15 to 3,000.
Learn more about Visit Rapid City and its various marketing initiatives, including meetings and conventions, at VisitRapidCity.com.
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About Visit Rapid City:
Visit Rapid City is the official marketing organization for Rapid City and promotes leisure travel, meetings and conventions, and sporting events to Rapid City and the Black Hills area. More information can be found at VisitRapidCity.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest or discover images and content with #VisitRapidCity.
Visit Rapid City Media Contact:
Tia Troy
tia@lightningbugpublicrelations.com
406.529.8314