Sunshine Matters

I recently represented VISIT FLORIDA at the Southeast Tourism Society Spring Symposium 2014, which was attended by nearly 250 travel professionals.  The event, hosted this year in Lexington by the Kentucky Department of Travel, brings members together to network and participate in regional advocacy and recognition programs to promote tourism throughout the Southeast.

The Symposium, which included the STS Board of Directors meeting, SETTRA Annual Conference and Tourism Research Symposium, kicked off with a keynote address by Kentucky Travel Secretary Bob Stewart sharing his thoughts on “Tourism’s ongoing evolution: Where we’ve been and how far will we dare to go?”  He discussed his take on the 1995 White House Conference on Travel and Tourism, as well as thoughts on today’s White House, a strong supporter of what tourism does and can do for our communities.

Other speaker topics included strategies to improve marketing and measurement, spending media dollars wisely, using and communicating data effectively, and the impact of school start dates on the tourism industry.  The closing session was a State of the South panel discussion exploring travel trends, demographic shifts and the outlook for 2014 and beyond for the Southeast region.  As always, networking contributed significant value to the meeting, offering attendees the opportunity to connect face-to-face with other travel and tourism leaders from the region.

To learn more about the Southeast Tourism Society, click here.