State officials say South Dakota's tourism industry remained strong in the face of higher gas prices and a weak economy in 2008.  

The Tourism Department says visitor spending last year was $967 million, a 2.8 percent increase over 2007.
Officials says it's the seventh straight year of growth.

Tourism Director Melissa Bump says the state did better than the national average.

The largest increase in visitor spending, 28 percent, was in the Great Lakes Region in central South Dakota.  The northeast grew by 4.6 percent, and the Black Hills, Badlands and Lakes saw growth of 1.1 percent.

The southeast saw a dip in visitor spending of 2.6 percent.