Aggregate Attractions Attendance
Aggregate attractions attendance figures are the sum of monthly attendance reported by the 27 members of the South Dakota Travel Monitoring System (SDTMS) Attractions Panel, plus statistics about recreation visits to each of the five National Park System units in South Dakota (Badlands National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, and Wind Cave National Park). Attractions in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors are included in the Panel. A limitation of this indicator is that it reflects visits by local residents as well as tourists.
Average Annual Change (AAC)
This is the same as the rate of interest in the familiar compound-interest formula. It is a simple way of summarizing the rate of change in a trend. Specifically, it reports the average rate of growth or decline in a variable that occurred to get from the first data point in a trend to the last data point in that trend, irrespective of peaks and valleys that may have transpired between these temporal extremes.
BBB Tax Due
Under the provisions of SDCL 10-52 and 10-52A, all retailers licensed to engage in a sales or use taxable business in South Dakota are also registered to collect and remit municipal sales tax, use tax, and gross receipts tax. The latter is commonly referred to as the BBB ("Bed, Board, Booze") tax. It is a one percent tax imposed on alcoholic beverages, eating establishments, lodging accommodations, admissions to places of amusement, and athletic and cultural events. Figures are deflated using monthly percentage changes in the U.S. Consumer Price Index--All
Urban Consumers. Regional figures reported may not sum to the statewide figures reported because the latter includes "Consolidated" and "Out-of-State" taxes due.
One limitation of this indicator is that the data reflect when tax returns were processed and not necessarily when tax liabilities were incurred. Thus, the data for a given month or season may include late payments for tax liabilities incurred in earlier months or seasons. If these late payments are substantial, a spike in the data will appear, and if tax collections a year later return to normal, a substantial "decline" in relation to the previous year will be reported.
Consumer Confidence Index
The Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) measures how optimistic or pessimistic consumers are with respect to the economy in the near future. If consumers are optimistic, they tend to purchase more goods and services, and this increase in spending stimulates the economy. The index is maintained by the Conference Board (http://www.conference-board.org/economics/consumerConfidence.cfm). Statistics are derived from data collected in the Consumer Confidence Survey, a monthly survey of 5,000 U.S. households conducted for The Conference Board by TNS, the world's largest custom research company. The values reported are preliminary for the current month and revised for the preceding month.
Consumer Price Index
A measurement of the cost of living determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures are obtained from http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost?bls, Series ID CUUR0000SA0.
Currency Exchange Rates
An exchange rate is the price of a country's currency in terms of another country's currency. The SDTMS monitors two currency exchange rates obtained from
http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g5/: Canadian dollars per U.S. dollar and U.S. dollars per Euro. When the number of Canadian dollars necessary to purchase a U.S. dollar increases, travel to the U.S. becomes more expensive for Canadians; when the number of Canadian dollars necessary to purchase a U.S. dollar declines, travel to the U.S. becomes less expensive for Canadians. When the number of U.S. dollars necessary to purchase a Euro increases, the number of Euros necessary to purchase a U.S. dollar decreases and travel to the U.S. becomes more economical for Europeans in the Euro Zone; when the number of U.S. dollars necessary to purchase a Euro decreases, the number of Euros necessary to purchase a U.S. dollar increases and travel to the U.S. becomes more expensive for Europeans in the Euro Zone.
Deadwood Gaming Tax
TAn eight percent gaming tax on the adjusted gross proceeds of gaming in Deadwood allowed by SDCL 42-7B-28. Figures are obtained from the column headed "8
percent Gaming Tax Collected" from http://www.state.sd.us/drr2/reg/gaming/statistics/stats.htm and then deflated using percentage increases in the level of the U.S. Consumer Price Index--All Urban Consumers. A limitation of this indicator is that it reflects gaming by local residents as well as tourists.
Expectations Index
A sub-index of the CCI that measures overall consumer sentiments toward the short-term (six-month) future economic situation. It is used to derive about 60 percent of the CCI. The sub-index is compiled from data gathered from a survey of 5,000 respondents regarding their near-term expectations of income and business and employment conditions. The values reported are preliminary for the current month and revised for the preceding month.
Fall
Defined in the SDTMS as the months of September, October, and November.
Gasoline Prices
Data are conventional regular gasoline prices from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/mg_rco_usm.htm).
"Conventional" means finished motor gasoline exclusive reformulated gasoline blendstock for oxygentate blending as well as other blendstock. Every Monday, retail prices for gasoline are collected by telephone from a sample of approximately 900 retail gasoline outlets. The prices are published by 5 p.m. Monday, except on government holidays, when the data are released on Tuesday (but still represent Monday's price). The reported price includes all taxes and is the pump price paid by a consumer as of 8 a.m. Monday. This price represents the self-serve price except in areas having only full-serve. The price data are used to calculate weighted average price estimates at the city, state, regional and national levels using sales and delivery volume data from other EIA surveys and population estimates from the Bureau of Census.
Highway Traffic Counts
Highway traffic count statistics are obtained from the South Dakota Department of Transportation's Division of Planning and Engineering (http://www.sddot.com/pe/data/traf_autorec.asp). They are the aggregate of average daily traffic counts recorded by permanent traffic recorder (PTR) stations on all rural highways within a given region. Since PTR stations occasionally break down, data from a given station for a given month are included in calculations only if this same station also reported data for the same month of the preceding year.
Index
Trend graphs are plots of "index numbers." The latter are the original, or
"raw" values in the series of values comprising a trend, expressed as percentages of the initial value in the series. In the case of the SDTMS, these initial values pertain to 1996. Many indicators of travel activity are measured in different units, such as visits, dollars, and overnight stays. Using index numbers permits the placement of these diverse indicators on the same percentage scale so that they can be meaningfully compared. It does not change the values of "average annual change" reported or the basic pattern of the trends plotted from what would have emerged if the raw values had been plotted.
Lodging Overnight Stays, Occupancy Rates, and Prices
Figures are obtained from Smith Travel Research (STR) (http://www.smithtravelresearch.com/), a firm that monitors the performance of lodging establishments throughout the U.S. Only facilities that rent nightly and have 15 or more guestrooms are monitored. Facilities that operate seasonally are monitored during the months in which they are open. STR's South Dakota panel consists of 162 properties. The panel includes many of the larger properties in the state. The 162 facilities in STR's panel represent 36 percent of the 451 lodging facilities in South Dakota that contain 15 or more rooms; the 12,138 guest rooms in the STR panel represent 53 percent of the 22,802 guest rooms in South Dakota lodging facilities that contain 15 or more rooms.
Lodging Taxable Sales Revenue
The taxable sales revenue of licensed commercial lodging establishments in South Dakota are obtained from the South Dakota Department of Revenue and Regulation. Figures for a given region are deflated using monthly statistics on lodging price changes obtained from STR. Regional figures reported may not sum to the statewide figures reported because the latter includes "Consolidated" and "Out-of-State" taxable sales revenue. One limitation of this indicator is that the data reflect when tax returns were processed and not necessarily when tax liabilities were incurred. Thus, the data for a given month or season may include late payments for tax liabilities incurred in earlier months or seasons. If these late payments are substantial, a spike in the data will appear, and if tax collections a year later return to normal, a substantial "decline" in relation to the previous year will be reported.
Percent Change
This is a basic statistic designed to measure the extent to which some phenomenon (e.g., lodging prices) increased from one time period to another. In the case of the SDTMS, the time period is either a month or some aggregation of months, such as a season or the year-to-date. To compute percent change involves simply taking the value of some phenomenon for the current period and subtracting the value for the base period, i.e., the period to which we wish to make a comparison. In the case of the SDTMS, this would be the same period of the preceding year. This yields the "net change" or "absolute change" in the phenomenon. We then answer the question,
"How large is this change in relation to our 'starting point,' i.e., the value for the base period?" by dividing the net change by the value for the base period. Finally, we multiply our result by 100 to standardize it in the form of a percentage that can be easily compared to percent change results for other phenomena. For example, if average lodging prices in Region 1 during March 2007 are $50, and average lodging prices in this region during March 2006 are $45, average lodging prices in March 2007 increased ((50 - 45) / 45) * 100 or 11.1%. A limitation of this statistic is that values can be quite high if the value for the base year is unusually low. Thus, if overnight stays in a motel during a winter month increase from 5 to 10, this would be an increase of ((10 - 5) / 5) * 100 or 100.0%.
Present Situation Index
A sub-index of the CCI that measures overall consumer sentiments toward the present economic situation. It is used to derive about 40 percent of the CCI. The sub-index is compiled from data gathered from a survey of 5,000 households on questions regarding current business and employment conditions. The values reported are preliminary for the current month and revised for the preceding month.
Season
The SDTMS defines "winter" as December through February, "spring" as March
through May, "summer" as June through August, and "fall" as September through November.
Smith Travel Research
See "Lodging Overnight Stays, Occupancy Rates, and Prices" above.
Spring
Defined in the SDTMS as the months of March, April, and May.
State Park Attendance
Statistics are estimated attendance figures obtained from the Parks and Recreation Division of the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks. They are estimates derived through such means as mechanical traffic counters and are not head-counts like those recorded by many commercial tourist attractions. Statistics reported include visitation to all land areas administered by the Parks and Recreation Division of the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks except lakeside use areas. This includes state parks, state recreation areas, and nature areas. A limitation of this indicator is that it includes visits by local residents as well as tourists.
Summer
Defined in the SDTMS as the months of June, July, and August.
Tourism Tax
In South Dakota, an additional one percent tax on certain lodging and amusement services that is imposed for tourism promotion. The tax applies to the gross receipts of lodging establishments, campgrounds, motor vehicle rentals, recreational equipment rentals, recreational services, spectator events, visitor attractions, and visitor-intensive businesses. The latter are defined as certain retail enterprises (e.g., antique shops, marinas, gift shops, flea markets, pottery shops) that derive 50 percent or more of their annual receipts from the sale of tangible personal property during June through September. The tourism tax on lodging establishments, campgrounds, motor vehicle rentals, recreational equipment rentals, recreational services, spectator events and visitor attractions applies year-round. The tourism tax on visitor-intensive businesses applies during June through September. Figures are deflated using monthly percentage changes in the U.S. Consumer Price Index--All Urban Consumers. Regional
figures reported may not sum to the statewide figures reported because the latter
includes "Consolidated" and "Out-of-State" taxes due.
One limitation of this indicator is that the data reflect when tax returns were processed and not necessarily when tax liabilities were incurred. Thus, the data for a given month or season may include late payments for tax liabilities incurred in earlier months or seasons. If these late payments are substantial, a spike in the data will appear, and if tax collections a year later return to normal, a substantial "decline" in relation to the previous year will be reported.
U.S. Unemployment Rate
The unemployment rate is the percentage of the labor force that is unemployed and actively seeking a job. Figures are seasonally adjusted percentages of the civilian labor force age 16 years and older obtained from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Series ID: LNS14000000 (http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost?bls).
Vacation Intentions
Statistics are derived from data collected in the Consumer Confidence Survey, a monthly survey conducted for The Conference Board by TNS, the world's largest custom research company. The Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. The values reported are preliminary for the current month and revised for the preceding month.
Weather Statistics
The SDTMS monitors three weather variables: (1) overall precipitation, (2) snowfall (during winter months), and (3) average maximum temperatures. "Overall
precipitation" is the sum of liquid and melted frozen precipitation. Statistics on average maximum temperatures, as opposed to overall average temperatures, are presented since travel activity is probably influenced more by temperatures during daylight hours (when temperatures reach a maximum) than by temperatures at other times of the day. Weather statistics are derived from data obtained from 46 weather stations scattered across the state. Eight stations are located in Region 1, 12 stations are located in Region 2, 12 stations are located in Region 3, and 14 stations are located in Region 4.
Weather conditions during either of the two months, seasons, or years being compared through percent change figures on the Web pages may have been anomalous, so to obtain a complete understanding of the weather situation during a given time period it is necessary to compare conditions during this time period to"normal" conditions, i.e., averages for the period 1971 to 2000. Thus, the Web pages report not only comparisons of the current time period to the same time period of the previous year, but also comparisons of the current time period to "normal."
Year-To-Date
The "year-to-date" refers to the time period January of the current year through the end of the current reporting period. Thus, the "year-to-date" for August 2007 would be January through August 2007. Often the "year-to-date" for a given period
is compared to the "year-to-date" for the same period of the previous year. Thus,
the percent change in "year-to-date" state park attendance in the case of August 2007 would be the percent change in state park attendance for January through August 2007 versus January through August 2006.
