North Dakota officials say counts of
visitors indicate the state's tourism industry has rebounded from
last year's flooding that put a damper on summer travel.
The state Tourism Division says that compared to the same time
period a year ago, visitors in the second quarter of this year were
up 24 percent at North Dakota's state parks, up 25 percent at
national parks and up 13 percent at major attractions.
Division Director Sara Otte Coleman says the warm spring
combined with pent-up demand after last year's flooding has been
great for the state's tourism industry.
Coleman says tourism spending also has been strong. She says
taxable sales tied to tourism in the first quarter of this year
were up nearly 38 percent from a year earlier.
