Tourism in North Dakota: Successful (Even Without Mount Rushmore)
3 Comments Published by gwen July 23rd, 2008 in Business.When we first moved to North Dakota, I assumed (like a lot of people) that this was the state that had Mount Rushmore. I was wrong; that’s South Dakota.
It took me a while to figure out how tourism could be North Dakota’s second largest industry without a huge attraction like Mount Rushmore. North Dakota is a very rural state, which means most people drive from one destination to another.
But the state makes it works by creating vacation packages and leveraging the cultural and historical sites along the way. The state tourism division markets with the ”I am Legendary” branding strategy in nearby states and even includes information on how much it costs to drive between Minneapolis and Fargo.
The results are very good, even with visitors from overseas.
Have you lived in North Dakota long enough to remember those billboards: “Welcome to North Dakota! Mountain Removal Project completed.”?
Clint
BismarckMandanBlog.com
Sure haven’t–but it sounds like I missed out! That make me smile!
Yeah, they had other ones too. Two of them that come to mind are:
- “Stay in North Dakota: Montana is closed for the weekend” (or something to that effect; could have been “closed for repairs” or “closed for renovation”)
- “Stay in North Dakota: Custer was healthy when he left”
We need more of that kind of fun.
Clint F
BismarckMandanBlog.com