A film crew hit several Sioux Falls hot spots Thursday to create videos that will promote the city as an international travel destination.
Destination marketing organization Brand USA came to Sioux Falls to create four videos targeting international visitors from South America, Germany, France and China.
In partnering with Brand USA, South Dakota is able to expand its global reach and increase existing efforts to attract foreign visitors, according to Krista Orsack, director of marketing for the Sioux Falls convention and visitors bureau.
“(The videos) will have potential to reach millions,” South Dakota Secretary of Tourism Jim Hagen said. “It gives us the opportunity to be on equal footing with other states like California.”
Brand USA was created in 2010 by the U.S. Travel Promotion Act in an effort to promote the U.S. as a travel destination after a steady decline in foreign visitors after 9/11.
Hagen said the decline in international travel to the U.S. meant a loss of billions in tourism revenue for the country in the decade before the Travel Promotion Act was passed.
Sometimes the U.S. can become arrogant in assuming travelers know about what the nation has to offer, Hagen said, adding that the country does need to market itself to international visitors.
“We just have to remind them why the U.S. is a good place to travel to,” Hagen said.
The four videos being filmed this weekend will each run between three and four minutes, and they will be housed on a number of different websites, including Discover America (Brand USA’s site) and South Dakota tourism websites.
Videos are filmed in the native language of the target country, which is one of the most important aspects of Brand USA content, said Brianne Maciejowski, account director with Brand USA partner agency, Miles.
The company works with “hosts,” or people who lived in a foreign country but now live in the U.S., to create the videos. For example, a video targetting visitors from Germany would feature a German host explaining Sioux Falls attractions.
“We want to make sure what we’re saying is going to appeal to that market,” Maciejowski said. “It’s a host that that is someone they can relate to … They have that native appeal, and [visitors] can see themselves being there.”
Tourism brings $2 million annually into the state, and Hagen said one in 11 South Dakotans are employed in that industry.
Hagen hopes the videos will inspire travelers to spend longer touring the state. He said in conversations with international tour operators, he’s heard that groups are now adding a few extra days in South Dakota because they want to visit not only the Black Hills, but the eastern part of the state as well.
“It has become a destination in South Dakota,” Hagen said. “They are putting Sioux Falls on the map in a bigger way.”
The film crew will spend the next few days featuring the following locations: Falls Park, Prairie Star Gallery, Strawbale Winery, the bike trail, the Washington Pavilion, the downtown SculptureWalk and Hot Harley Nights.
Source link : http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/local/2015/07/09/tourism-videos-promote-sioux-falls-internationally/29935903/
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Publish date : 2015-07-09 03:00:00
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