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2024 was a great year for the economy in Rapid City

Rapid City, S.D. (KELO) — Thanks to local attractions and kids sports, more people are spending time in South Dakota's second largest city. Last year Rapid City welcomed 100,000 more visitors. Spending was also up $25 Million from 2023. 'So one of the neat things about the Black Hills is that it is multi-generational. So grandpa and grandma came as kids, then they brought their kids, now they're bringing their grandkids and the Black Hills has always been that. The other neat thing and this really does kind of isolate us from what's going on in the National Economy is that we are a pretty significant drive market .' Visit Rapid City President Brook Kaufman Said This continued growth in tourism has been helped by the growth of youth sporting events in the area. 'It's all just part of the puzzle of overall tourism. Sports is a big contributor, but so are meetings and conventions. Sports we do really well because it's the time of year when we don't have traditional tourism.' Executive Director Domico Rodriguez Over the past month, Rapid City hosted 3 successful state tournaments. 'There's a youth tournament almost every weekend in the area of some sport in the winter. And trying to capitalize on that and grow those events, will only help the bottom line for all of our attractions, hotels and restaurants.' Rodriguez Said 'Our sporting tournaments last year and we're going to see that again in 25, we have a very robust leisure visitor. We kind of transition, we see families in the summer and then we transition to older couples that are here that are maybe retired and they have a little bit more time. What I can tell you is that constantly what we hear is I wish I would've stayed longer.' Kaufman Said These numbers also show that the tourism economy generated over $113 Million in government revenue, saving each household close to $2,000 in taxes. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.