Tourism Product Development Workshop participants. Casey Tibbs Rodeo Center, Fort Pierre, SD. October 29, 2026.
Exciting things are happening in Fort Pierre! Over the past several months, residents, businesses, and community leaders have come together to help shape the future of tourism in Fort Pierre through Travel South Dakota’s Destination Development Program.
As one of two South Dakota communities selected for the 2026–2027 program, Fort Pierre is receiving support to turn local ideas into meaningful tourism experiences that celebrate what makes the community special, strengthen local businesses, and improve quality of life for residents. The effort is being led by Fort Pierre’s Destination Core Team in partnership with Travel South Dakota and the George Washington University International Institute of Tourism Studies.
The process started by listening to the community. Through surveys, resident focus groups, and a business and organization roundtable, community members shared what they love about Fort Pierre, where they see opportunities for improvement, and what they envision for its future.
Community participation was strong, with 120 resident survey responses, 23 business and organization survey responses, 11 resident focus group participants, and 10 business and organization roundtable participants, in addition to members of the Destination Core Team.
The message was clear: Fort Pierre recognizes the value of tourism and sees exciting opportunities for the future! An overwhelming 96% of resident survey respondents and 100% of business and organization respondents consider tourism important to the local economy. Looking ahead, support for growing and enhancing tourism is equally strong, with 94% of residents and 91% of businesses and organizations supporting tourism product development.
Survey respondents also emphasized the community's rich history, Western heritage, Missouri River setting, outdoor recreation, and welcoming small-town character. They also shared ideas for expanding family-friendly activities, events, dining, and recreation, while improving visitor information, and connecting local attractions.
This community input, combined with research on visitor trends, tourism's economic impact, and 31 existing attractions and 27 local events, helped paint a clearer picture of Fort Pierre's tourism opportunities. One important finding was that Fort Pierre recorded an estimated 208,524 visitor trips in 2025, a 17.36% increase over 2024; however, the average length of stay was just 2.4 days, a decrease of 0.4 days over the same period. This highlights an opportunity to encourage visitors to stay longer, explore more of what Fort Pierre has to offer, and spend more at local businesses.
On October 29, the community took the next big step by coming together for a Tourism Product Development Workshop. 24 participants, including business owners, government agency representatives, nonprofit organizations, residents and community leaders gathered to explore the findings, share ideas, and collectively envision what tourism in Fort Pierre could look like in the years ahead.
Through hands-on activities and group discussions, participants identified and prioritized opportunities ranging from improvements to existing attractions to ambitious, longer-term projects. Some of the leading ideas included:
Enhancing Fischers Lilly Park through master planning and expanded recreational amenities.
Developing a visitor center to showcase Fort Pierre's attractions, history, and experiences.
Connecting key destinations through improved trails and links between Fischers Lilly Park, Tatanka Trail, the Missouri River, and downtown.
Improving tourism websites and visitor information to make it easier for visitors to discover everything Fort Pierre has to offer.
Revitalizing downtown through beautification and improvements that create a more welcoming and vibrant community.
The momentum continued on October 30 with a Destination Stewardship Meeting, an additional gathering focused on bringing local organizations contributing to tourism together. Building on the workshop and destination assessment, the meeting explored how stronger coordination and collaborative implementation could help Fort Pierre move priority projects, and tourism more broadly, forward and sustain progress over time.
So, what's next? The ideas and priorities identified through this process will help shape Fort Pierre's tourism product development strategy, which will be completed by the end of January 2027, and guide the selection of projects for potential support through Travel South Dakota's program. This includes up to $15,000 in seed funding and 100 hours of technical assistance from subject-matter experts to help turn one or two priority ideas outlined in Fort Pierre’s strategy into reality.
Most importantly, this work is about more than attracting visitors. It's about celebrating Fort Pierre's unique identity, building on the community's strengths, and creating experiences and amenities that residents can enjoy and take pride in, too.
A big thank-you to everyone who has shared their ideas, participated in discussions, and helped move this effort forward! Your voices are helping shape Fort Pierre's future, and the work accomplished so far is just the beginning.
