Tourist season is taking a big hit this year, locally and nationally. Industry pros say it’s all about Trump and his policies.

This morning I was scanning June sales tax receipts for the tourist-dependent towns in the Black Hills and saw a sharp falloff in taxable sales from June of last year.  Here’s a rundown:

• Custer  +0.65%

• Deadwood  -12.24%

• Hill City  -12.03%

• Keystone  -6.49%

• Lead  -10.08%

With the exception of Custer, which barely held its own, these are discouraging numbers. If there’s an upside to a performance like this, western South Dakota tourist operators know that they’re probably hanging on to market share because they are not alone when it comes to a significant downturn in revenues so far this year.

This is a national, not just a local, dropoff.

Given that total visitation to our country’s national parks was down 14.6% in June (and is down 11.4% year-to-date), the disappointing local numbers are indeed part of a national trend. Industry media are reporting that the United States is suffering a severe slump in visitors and spending. And they’re calling it a President Trump-instigated falloff.

Forbes says: U.S. Tourism Will Lose Up To $29 Billion As Visitors Plummet Amid Trump Policies.

Travel Weekly says: Las Vegas hotels grapple with steep occupancy decline

Travel and Tour World Weekly says: US New Tourism Tax Could Drive International Visitor Numbers Into Freefall, Threatening Economic Stability and a Decline in Tourism Revenue

I could post more, but the theme is a common one, with the universal conclusion that the dropoff is a reflection of Trump administration policies, most notably when it comes to attracting foreign visitors. The Canadian market has been particularly impacted by Trump policies and rhetoric.

I doubt that this trend will reverse itself over the coming 10-12 weeks of the summer tourist season. My thinking is that these numbers may be the new normal for the remaining years of Trump’s presidency.  

If that’s the case, we might as well get used to it and hope things stabilize at these levels.

John Tsitrian is a businessman and writer from the Black Hills. He was a weekly columnist for the Rapid City Journal for 20 years. His articles and commentary have also appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Denver Post and The Omaha World-Herald. Tsitrian served in the Marines for three years (1966-69), including a 13-month tour of duty as a radioman in Vietnam. Republish with permission.

Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons

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