SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO AM) - The head of the Sioux Falls Convention and Visitor's Bureau, Teri Schmidt, goes to Washington Monday for an annual conference with the United States Travel Association and the hot topic will be President Trump's travel ban.
Schmidt says visitors from sixty foreign countries signed in at Falls Park last year so if a travel ban passes in its strictest form it could impact tourism.
She says beyond that "we have to wait and see what actually becomes reality of the travel ban and then we have to figure how in the world we're going to deal with that."
If tourism numbers fall greatly, she says, it could be fewer people employed which means fewer tax dollars. If there's less demand, fewer people in the service industry will be needed. Schmidt says the ban is a concern nationwide, she says large and small communities are watching the bans' progress.
She says if you set aside a possible travel ban, she anticipates a good travel season for Sioux Falls. But she says there are so many factors in our political climate that are affecting the attitudes and expenditures of people and the tourism industry must be aware and responsive to that.
Schmidt says South Dakota's Tourism Secretary Jim Hagen will also attend the conference in D.C. next week.
