McKenzie County ND

Pictures courtesy of Holly Helling.

Holly Helling and Teresa Forthun represented the Lewis and Clark Trail Museum of Alexander at the two day 2008 North Dakota Tourism Conference in Mandan April 21 and 22.

Eight Governor’s Travel and Tourism awards, recognizing outstanding leaders in the tourism industry, were presented Monday, April 21, at the 2008 North Dakota Tourism Conference in Mandan. During the conference, Governor John Hoeven, Tourism Director Sara Otte Coleman, and Destination Marketing Association of North Dakota President Wendy Howe, presented the awards in eight travel and tourism categories.

“As the second-largest industry in North Dakota, tourism accounts for $3.8 billion in visitor spending,” said Hoeven.”

Each dollar spent on paid media in 2007 brought in $123 in visitor spending. “Our efforts in aggressively marketing North Dakota as a great place to live, work and play are coming to fruition,” said Gov. John Hoeven.

ND Tourism will spend $1.9 million on the 2008 advertising plan. The plan includes broadcast, direct response television; print, radio, online and out-of-home advertising; as well as newspaper inserts, direct mail and outdoor (hunting and fishing) marketing. Some media has begun, with the majority starting April 1 in target markets of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, and Montana. These targets reflect potential travelers age 35 to 64 within a 1,000-mile radius of North Dakota.

Many thanks are extended to the Horizons Program for the funding to make this conference possible for Holly and Teresa. Also thank you to Holly for the pictures.