show report travel south usa Internat Ional showcase 2012 South rises to tourism challenge
The first Travel South USA International Showcase took place in Atlanta (November 26-29). Steve Hartridge joined the dozen or so UK tour operators on the show floor
North Carolina urges deeper connections
NORTH Carolina will be encouraging visitors to make a ‘deeper connection’ with the destination in 2013 by discovering all that’s unique in the Tar Heel State. “North Carolina has a wealth of undiscovered gems…like mountain resorts, cosmopolitan cities and great beaches – we even have wild mustangs on Shackleford Banks, the descendants of horses that first arrived on the Outer Banks around 400 years ago,” said Will Tuttell, Director of Tourism Marketing. The state is compiling a list of 543
experiences that can be found only in North Carolina (the number 543 represents the driving distance between Manteo on the coast and Murphy in the mountains). These include the highest ski area in the east, the nation’s largest natural habitat zoo, a winery in an old jail and some of the best golf courses in the country (North Carolina will host both the Men’s and Women’s’ US Opens in 2014, both at Pinehurst CC). New this year is the first North
Carolina Beer Month (April). “We’ve got more breweries (around 70) than any other state south of Pennsylvania and east of Texas. Beer month will include a major festival (Hickory Hops on April 20) and lodging packages and brewery tours, said Tuttell.
www.VisitNC.com/project543
IN BRIEF
Hear the blues. This year’s Highway 61 Blues Festival in Leland, Mississippi, will be moved to the first two weeks in October, immediately before the famous King Biscuit Blues Festival (10-12), in nearby Helena, Arkansas. “Blues lovers will be able to take in both festivals on a single visit to the South,” said Wesley Smith, at Greenville Washington County, Mississippi.
www.visitthedelta.com
States together in Atlanta
“We've got more ageing bottles of bourbon than we have people in Kentucky”
THEY SAID IT...
“We are always willing to look at our existing product and see how we might tweak it to include something new or different. We will definitely look at trying to include some more upstate South Carolina product, which I think works well with the coast and provides a nice contrast, along with more Alabama product such as the Muscle Shoals area, with all its music history." Cath Pusey, America As You Like It
THE USA’s 11 southern states should work together to package and promote the many draw cards that are common to the region. That was the key message of an event that showed off the tourism wares of Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky and Arkansas. Assets such as distinctive regional food,
music, a shared culture and history that can be discovered in Civil War sites and Human Rights attractions draw up to two million international tourists annually, but the region could be doing more to attract more tourists, said Kevin Langston, Deputy Commissioner of Georgia Tourism. “International Showcase is a statement
www.bluesandheritagefest.com. Civil Rights struggles remembered. 2013 marks 50 years since Alabama found itself at the centre of the Civil Rights struggle. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and The Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery are planning exhibitions and more to commemorate the individuals and events that helped produce the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964.
www.alabama.travel
that we want more tourists, we want them to stay longer and we want them to spend more,” he said. “We know that very few international
visitors are going to spend all their time in one state so the plan going forward should be to devise touring itineraries that address particular interests unique to our region,” he added. Several UK tour operators, including
Hayes and Jarvis/Jetsave, Complete North America, American and Worldwide Travel and NATS were in Atlanta. “The show was excellent. I came away with plenty of leads and ideas as to how to enhance our existing programme and add content to our website," said Richard Motimer of Complete North America.
Big wheel turning. Attracting visitors in
Myrtle Beach South Carolina is the new Skywheel, modelled on the London Eye. The largest observation wheel east of the Mississippi River, 42 Swiss-manufactured fully-enclosed gondolas provide a 12-minute ride, with views of the Myrtle Beach shoreline and the Grand Strand to several miles inland.
www.discoversouthcarolina.com
"Participating in the show opened my eyes to the South. Even the meals, sponsored or hosted by an individual state, were an education. I had a fabulous evening with North Carolina, enjoyed the tours by host Atlanta and travelled to Savannah (Georgia) and Charleston (South Carolina), so got a feel for several Southern destinations.” Richard Smart, Marketing Assistant, NATS
Kentucky showing right spirit
THE marketing tag: ‘Kentucky – Unbridled Spirit’ evokes more than an affinity with horses and also suggests the other unique attractions on offer in the state, said Hank Phillips, Deputy Commissioner for Kentucky Department of Travel and Tourism. “We are known for our equestrian ranches and our stud farms but there's also only one Kentucky Derby (in Louisville), there’s only one corvette factory to tour (Bowling Green), there’s only one Muhammad Ali Center (Louisville), there’s only one International Bluegrass Museum (Owensboro) and there’s only one Bourbon Trail,” he said. Opening in Louisville in 2013 is the
Evan Williams Experience, a distillery tour (of Kentucky’s first distiller) and retail outlet rolled into one.
www.kentuckytourism.com
www.sellinglonghaul.com • January 2013 13
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