RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – The travel and tourism industry continues to play a pivotal role in the Rapid City economy. According to Visit Rapid City, the town welcomed 3.9 million visitors in 2024.
The 3.9 million is a 100,000 increase in visitors to Rapid City compared to 2023.
Visit Rapid City shared other economic numbers for 2024 including visitors spending a little more than $500 million, which is a 2.4% increase from 2023.
The Visit Rapid City CEO, Brook Kaufman, said visitor spending in 2024 increased by $25 million compared to the year before. Rapid City visitors were also responsible for creating almost $53.7 million in state and local taxes in 2024.
“Out of total sales tax collection, what percentage is generated off tourism spending and to the city’s best estimate it’s about 21% of their total sales tax collections,” Kaufman said. “So, you can imagine what our city budget would look like and what would happen to services if we just cut out 21%.”
Visit Rapid City said food and beverage was the biggest expense for visitors at $150 million, followed by lodging at $142 million and retail purchases at $88 million.
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