Atlanta,
GA – March 2016 / Newsmaker Alert / Close to 600 delegates are gathered
in Winston Salem, North Carolina for Travel South Showcase, March 6 – 9,
2016 for a sold-out Marketplace. The invitation-only tradeshow
hosts domestic and Canadian-based tour operators and travel trade journalists
as well as prominent receptive tour operators and southern destination
suppliers who are looking to bring business to the South.
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 According
to Visit North Carolina’s Executive Director, Wit Tuttell, North Carolina
is thrilled to host the Travel
South Domestic Showcase. “From the mountains to the coast and the piedmont
in-between, North Carolina has so much to offer. It’s a privilege to have
industry professionals and journalists here to see for themselves the richness
and rewards of the North Carolina travel experience. We’re especially excited
about welcoming everyone to Winston-Salem, which will be a revelation to
anyone who has yet to discover this intriguing city.”
Now
in its 34th year, Travel South Showcase began in 1983 as the very first
regional, computerized marketplace. Now, the three day program is focused
exclusively on selling southern destinations and offers over 16,000 pre-scheduled
business appointments combined with outstanding entertainment, city tours,
and evening events. Meal functions are considered the premier marketing
opportunity to “showcase” the rich music, food, culture, history and hospitality
of the South.
Pre
& Post-FAM tours in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee,
and West Virginia focus operators and top quality journalists to explore
beyond the gateway destinations. “We have over 110 passengers boarding
motorcoaches and airplanes to experience the Outer Banks to Norfolk, Asheville,
Bristol, Tennessee and southwest Virginia, Myrtle Beach, Lewisburg, West
Virginia, voted ‘Coolest Small Town in America’ to the capital city of
Charleston, West Virginia, and many of the authentic Americana destinations
along the way. This is the best way to sell our region” shared Liz Bittner,
President & CEO of Travel
South USA. “Once an operator experiences our genuine hospitality and
authentic destinations they return to the office to be our #1 sales ambassadors.”
Travel
South USA experienced a record year of motorcoach travel in 2014 hosting
over 33 million visitors on group tours, with bookings of 21.7 million
room hotel nights producing $9 billion in direct economic impact to the
region, according to the American Bus Association Foundation. The region
is set for another solid increase in 2016 and is expected to continue growth,
beating the national averages, as the new look for authentic destinations
with warm hospitality and interesting experiences for students, seniors,
and groups of all sizes and ages.
About
Travel South USA
Travel
South USA is America’s oldest and largest regional travel promotion organization,
formed in 1965 by resolution presented at the Southern Governor’s Conference.
The long-standing regional collaboration of the state tourism offices of
Alabama,
Arkansas,
Georgia,
Kentucky,
Louisiana,
Mississippi,
Missouri,
North
Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee,
Virginia
and West Virginia provides a foundation
to positively position tourism as a vital and dynamic element in the region’s
economic development. Tourism ranks throughout the region as one of the
top three industries, behind manufacturing and agriculture, and is responsible
for $133 billion in spending by visitors, generating 1.4 million direct
jobs, $30 billion in worker paychecks, and almost $16 billion in state
and local taxes.
For
travel industry information: www.TravelSouthUSA.org
For
consumer information about travel to the South: www.TravelSouthUSA.com
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Contact:
Sam
Lacy
Digital
Marketing Manager
Travel
South USA
404-231-1790
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Travel
South USA: Facebook
/ Twitter / YouTube
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Travel
South USA
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