SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — More than 14 million people visited South Dakota last year, according to a report from Tourism Economics.

As we get ready for a new summer travel season, communities are celebrating National Travel and Tourism Week.

Sharon Stark and her husband are visiting Sioux Falls from Houston, Texas.

“We’ve learned a lot about South Dakota and decided that we want to visit because we want to retire up here,” Traveler Sharon Stark said.

As the couple scopes out the city, they’re taking in popular attractions like Falls Park.

“It’s beautiful. I think it’s amazing,” Stark said.

The tourism season in Sioux Falls stretches from April to October.

“We’re already seeing people come in. It’s not the big influx that we’re going to see in June, July, August, but they’re starting to roll in,” Experience Sioux Falls CEO Teri Schmidt said.

Last year, southeastern South Dakota saw the highest visitor spending compared to other regions in the state.

“When we think of tourism in South Dakota, we think of the Black Hills, which what would we do without Mount Rushmore? But Sioux Falls is really growing in the tourism business,” Schmidt said.

Teri Schmidt, CEO of Experience Sioux Falls, is expecting another positive season this year.

“People are in the mood to travel. We know that gas prices, they’re a little high, but they’re not so high that people are going to stay home,” Schmidt said.

But for travelers like the Starks, Sioux Falls might just become home.

The Starks are also planning on heading to Palisades State Park and De Smet.