N. Dakota Leads U.S. in Hotel Occupancy Growth

BISMARCK, ND -- "This summer's flooding disrupted lives, businesses and vacations. Not surprisingly, the state's tourism division says fewer people traveled around the state during the flood, but the division says these past three months tourism has rebounded.

"You wouldn't go to Disney World without calling and making sure you had a hotel room. We`re just trying to get people to think of North Dakota that way," said Sara Otte Coleman, director of the state's tourism division. 

"Tourism is not just leisure travel, but it's broader," Coleman said. "It includes business travel. It includes visiting friends and relatives and all of that so it`s still tourism even though it`s not our focus which is leisure travelers."

Thanks to the oil boom, finding a hotel room anywhere near Minot, Williston or Dickinson is becoming nearly impossible if you don't have a reservation. Coleman says North Dakota is leading the country in hotel occupancies, increasing by 9 percent from this time last year."

MP: More evidence that the oil boom in North Dakota is having significant and positive spillover effects on other industries in the state, including tourism.