North Dakota is experiencing a hotel swell, which is the result of an oil boom that has resulted in a more flourishing economy. This has positively impacted tourism and increased hotel demand.
There are 322 hotels and motels in the state, said North Dakota Tourism Director Sara Otte Coleman.
More than 40 new hotels have opened in North Dakota since 2011 and 39 more are scheduled to open in 2013, according to tourism officials.
The Bakken formation, a rock unit from the Late Devonian to Early Mississippian Age has created a large oil economy in that area of North Dakota, giving the state the lowest unemployment rate in the nation.
Many of the hotels are housing alternatives for the laborers working in the oil industry, but there are also many other hotels opening in the area not aimed at laborers.
"While many of North Dakota's new hotel properties opened in the western part of the state, eleven hotel properties east of U.S. Highway 83 opened in 2012 or will open in 2013," said Coleman, in a press release.
Bismarck will see five new hotels in 2013 after adding four new properties in 2012, Coleman told the Huffington Post. She also stated that a handful of new Cobblestone Inn & Suites properties opened in 2012, and more will be added outside of the oil region.
With 37 facilities built since 2010, North Dakota has seen an addition of 2,300 rooms. With the addition of hotels in the planning stages or currently under construction, bringing an additional 3,000 rooms, the total number of rooms in North Dakota will be about 20,000.
Approximately 70 percent of those rooms are in the oil-producing region, which is located in the western part of the state, according to Coleman.
Tourism is an important part of the economy of North Dakota. More than 17 million people visited the state in 2012, according to an annual report from North Dakota Tourism. It added $4.8 billion to the local economy.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
