Jan. 21, 2026

South Dakota’s tourism activity hit another record in 2025.

According to results of an annual study conducted by Tourism Economics, 14.97 million visitors traveled to and within South Dakota in 2025, an increase of 0.38 percent from 2024.

Those visitors spent a record $5.16 billion, representing a 1.1 percent increase over 2024 and reinforcing tourism’s role as a stable contributor to the state’s economy.

“Tourism’s impact extends far beyond visitor spending,” Gov. Larry Rhoden said in a statement. “This industry supports jobs, strengthens local communities and provides meaningful tax relief for South Dakota families. These results highlight tourism’s essential role in sustaining one of the strongest state economies in the nation.”

In 2025, the tourism industry accounted for 4.7 percent of the state’s total economy. Visitor activity generated $2.3 billion in household income for South Dakotans, supporting 59,145 jobs statewide.

“The tourism industry faced real challenges in 2025, from economic uncertainty to evolving travel behaviors, yet South Dakota continued to be resilient,” said James Hagen, secretary of the  Department of Tourism.

“That resilience speaks to the appeal of our destinations, the dedication of our tourism partners and the incredible experiences our state offers visitors year-round.”

Travel South Dakota credits consistent domestic travel demand, an increase in day-trip visitors and continued interest in the state’s outdoor and cultural experiences as key contributors to the industry’s success in 2025. This is further supported by recreation leading spending growth, increasing 4 percent year over year, the department said.

Tourism activity also generated $406.1 million in state and local tax revenue, representing 16.5 percent of all state sales tax collections.

California cryptocurrency startup BitGo has moved to South Dakota ahead of its initial public offering and amid a heated debate about a proposed ballot measure to tax billionaires.

The company that had been based in Palo Alto is now based in Sioux Falls, S.D., according to a December filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

BitGo, which is targeting a valuation of $1.96 billion, offers tools to businesses that help them manage their digital assets and keep them secure.

It occupies 5,250 square feet of office space in Sioux Falls as part of a lease scheduled to expire in 2028, the filing said. As of September, the digital asset infrastructure company said it had office space in San Francisco, Palo Alto, New York, Canada, India, Germany, Singapore, South Korea and Dubai. It had 566 full-time employees.

The rise of remote work has made it possible for businesses to recruit employees outside of their main headquarters. BitGo’s career page lists openings for a variety of roles — some of them remote — including in California and South Dakota. Some jobs, though, asks applicants whether they can work on-site.

The filing doesn’t say why the company moved its headquarters. Business leaders who have been critical of California regulation have been relocating their headquarters. Database management company Oracle and social media company X moved their main offices.

SFGate earlier reported on BitGo’s move.

An initiative to tax some of California’s wealthiest residents still needs enough signatures to make it on the November ballot, but it’s already sparking a lot of backlash. Under the Billionaire Tax Act, Californians worth more than $1 billion would pay a one-time 5% tax on their total wealth. Most of that funding would go toward healthcare to help offset widespread cuts by the Trump administration.

Critics of the proposal include BitGo Chief Executive Mike Belshe, who said on X that a new tax would also harm startups.

“Who in their right mind would found a new business in California if California does this?,” he wrote in late December.

Although some tech moguls, including Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, recently have moved some of their companies out of California, proponents of the proposal say concerns that billionaires will flee are overblown.

The proposed tax would apply to about 200 California billionaires who reside in the state as of Jan. 1. The Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, the union behind the initiative, said that it would raise $100 billion, and that most billionaires haven’t moved.

BitGo didn’t immediately respond to questions about its headquarters.

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