Chris Cannon posted on February 21, 2011 12:20
ATLANTA, GA. -
February 22-24, 2011, Georgia tourism representatives will welcome close to 650 delegates to the 29th Annual Travel South USA Showcase at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Rome & Floyd County is sending a full delegation of representatives to develop new travel and tourism business.
Rome’s representatives include: Lisa Smith, Ann Hortman and Linda Smith of the Greater Rome Convention & Visitors Bureau; Patrice Shannon of Oak Hill & the Martha Berry Museum; and Mandy McInturff of Winshape Retreat.
The three-day conference brings domestic tour operators, receptive operators, select international tour operators and travel journalists together with more than 250 southern destinations, hotels, restaurants, attractions and travel service providers to increase tourism business and growing the region’s market share of the tourist dollars spent.
“We are thrilled to welcome Travel South Showcase delegates to Georgia and eager to showcase our world-class attractions, history, culture and Southern hospitality,” said Kevin Langston, Deputy Commissioner for Tourism for the Georgia Department of Economic Development. “We have had tremendous support from the Georgia tourism industry in planning and hosting this prestigious conference.”
Travel South USA estimates that the Southern states involved in the conferences will result in over $15 million of direct economic impact as a result of tours booked during the conference.
“As we develop the travel and tourism industry in Rome, Travel South will help us further our growth in the group tour market and increase our economic development,” said Patrice Shannon, director of Oak Hill & the Martha Berry Museum.
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, 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.
Travel and tourism ranks throughout the region as one of the top three industries, behind manufacturing and agriculture, and is responsible for $122.6 billion in spending by visitors, generating 1.37 million direct jobs, $29.7 billion in worker paychecks, and almost $16 billion in state and local taxes. For more information, visit www.TravelSouthUSA.com for consumer information and for travel industry information, www.TravelSouthUSA.org.