Tourism growth is very good for Jamestown

The spike in tourism in Jamestown this season is good news for the city and tourism officials don’t expect the numbers to slow down.

Beyond agriculture and oil exploration, tourism is the third-largest industry in terms of overall economic impact in North Dakota, according to a 2011 annual report by the North Dakota Department of Commerce Tourism Division. It’s big business and it’s big business for Jamestown.

In 2011, the economic impact of tourism in Jamestown was nearly $11 million.

Two of the Jamestown’s largest attractions — the World’s Largest Buffalo and Frontier Village — continue to bring in visitors, with nearly 37,000 people having stopped in to the two sites between Jan. 1 and June 21.

That’s up 21 percent from last year, and other sites like Fort Seward and the Stutsman County Museum are also registering more traffic.

The weather is certainly a key factor in the spike in visitors. A historically mild winter and an even warmer spring meant people could enjoy pleasant weather and get out that much sooner. Those visitors spend dollars on restaurants, hotels and on shopping as they pass through our city. As more people find North Dakota due to its booming oil economy, they’ll also find more reasons to explore the entire state.

“I think people are discovering that North Dakota is a state. We’re not a secret anymore,” said Nina Sneider, executive director of the Buffalo City Tourism Foundation, in a June 28 Sun article.

The tourism season is still young and tourism officials expect strong visitor numbers to continue. That’s good for Jamestown’s economy and good for Jamestown.

(Editorials are the opinion of Jamestown Sun management and the newspaper’s editorial board)

Tags: opinion, editorials, tourism