Letter: Optimism excessive for North Dakota tourism post-pandemic | Letters to the Editor

Governor Doug Burgum proclaimed North Dakota Travel and Tourism Week May 2-8, recognizing the industry’s role in helping our communities and businesses, restoring the economy and rebuilding our workforce.

There is great optimism that through creative planning and hard work across the industry, North Dakota is well positioned to welcome audiences looking to travel and adventure in 2021.

Almost two-thirds of Americans are willing to travel and seek inspiration as they dream, plan trips, and book at increasingly higher prices. North Dakota Tourism website, NDtourism.comVisitor numbers from all 50 states show that travelers see us as a safe, affordable, and exciting destination where they can refresh, reconnect, and refocus. Our travel motivators are exactly what people are looking for: scenic beauty, expansive spaces, national and state parks and historical sites.

Road trips will be even more popular in 2021, and our marketing and promotional efforts, including our new Road Trip Guide, feature fun routes and itineraries across the state. We will lead travelers to “follow their curiosity, not the crowd” to our unique attractions, fun events, eclectic shopping and a variety of restaurants. To make planning easier, we have also updated several multi-day road trips which can be found at https://belegendary.link/RoadTrips.