200 N. Phillips Ave, Suite 102 • Sioux Falls, SD 57104 • 605.336.1620 • 800.333.2072 VisitSiouxFalls.com • Facebook.com/VisitSiouxFalls • @VisitSiouxFalls
For Immediate Release September 13, 2013
Contact Teri Schmidt, Executive Director 605.373.2030 (office) 605.366.5590 (cell)
Sioux Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau Hosts Group Tour Leaders The Sioux Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) will host two group familiarization (FAM) tours September 13-14, 2013 and September 15-17, 2013. The FAM tours will bring in tour operators who plan domestic and international travel for various groups. “This is a great opportunity to showcase the city of Sioux Falls to group tour leaders who will bring visitors back with them,” states Teri Schmidt, Executive Director of the Sioux Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau. In cooperation with the South Dakota Department of Tourism, the Rocky Mountain International (RMI) Mega FAM arrives Friday, September 13 with a welcome reception and dinner at the Falls Overlook Café. On Saturday, September 14 the FAM will continue touring Sioux Falls attractions and end with lunch at Strawbale Winery. Participants will be flying to Sioux Falls from the Netherlands, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and the United States. The tour will continue across South Dakota through Friday, September 20. The Sioux Falls CVB Group Tour FAM begins Sunday, September 15 at Falls Park and ends Tuesday, September 17. The CVB will host 16 participants as a result of sales efforts to pursue group tour operators at industry trade shows and through various marketing efforts. Participants are from New Jersey, Minnesota and Nebraska. The following partners helped make these FAM’s possible: Best Western PLUS Sioux Falls Ramkota Hotel and Conference Center, Holiday Inn Express and Suites Southwest, Holiday Inn Express and Suites Shirley Ave., Staybridge Suites and Best Western Empire Towers. FAM tours are organized trips to educate tour planners about Sioux Falls as a tourism destination. Complete itineraries are attached.
### Mission: To market the City of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as a one-of-a-kind visitor destination, and to provide premier visitor services, by attracting conventions, meetings, sports, events, leisure and business travelers to Sioux Falls in the most economic and efficient manner possible in order to positively impact the local economy.