Industry news in the Southeast

National Park visitors brought $1,616,600,000 - Yes, Billion - to the state of Virginia's economy The state had more than 22 million visitors to its national parks in 2018 

A Master Naturalist volunteers with ecocampers at Booker T. Washington National Monument outside of Hardy, Virginia. Photo: NPS

While many of us in the travel and tourism already understand the importance of our national parks, and how they support gateway communities like Hardy, Virginia, numbers and data play an important part in our success stories - especially when we meet with our representatives in D.C. next month for the STS Congressional Summit on Travel and Tourism (June 11-13). When traveling to a national park, it's no surprise lodging and food expenses hold the largest share of visitor spending and the number of jobs these visits support is priceless. According to an article in The Roanoke Star , "The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists Catherine Cullinane Thomas and Egan Cornachione of the U.S. Geological Survey and Lynne Koontz of the National Park Service. The report shows $20.2 billion of direct spending by more than 318 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 329,000 jobs nationally; 268,000 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $40.1 billion." Read More

Forbes features Bubba O'Keefe, an STS Marketing College attendee, for his investment in Clarksdale, Miss. and its history While he sat in a North Georgia classroom earlier this month, for a week's worth of travel and tourism education, Forbes was shining a spotlight on Bubba O'Keefe, a Clarksdale, Mississippi native, who continues to invest in the preservation of his hometown. The recently appointed Tourism Director of Visit Clarksdale (he started January 1) has been a champion for his town, especially Post-Katrina , and it's clearly working. Additional proof can be found in the USA Today article also listed in this month's T3. Read More

L to R: Bubba O'Keefe, Tourism Director of Visit Clarksdale, is pictured with Craig Ray, Director of Visit Mississippi.

Chinese travel to the U.S. has dropped - could WeChat change that? While there are a number of reasons the U.S. is seeing their first drop in fifteen years, with regards to visitors from China, there may be some additional solutions to help curb this. According to an AP article in the Lexington Herald Leader , "To hold onto those dollars, experts say the tourism industry must do more to keep up with Chinese travelers and their changing needs." Larry Yu, a professor of hospitality management at George Washington University, notes that Chinese tourists — particularly younger ones — are increasingly planning trips using social media apps like WeChat and are less likely to book through big tour groups. They have also rapidly adopted smartphone-based payment systems." Read More

Louisiana's Audubon Golf Trail showcases destinations on and off the course It never hurts to see how other STS members and destinations work in collaboration for travel and tourism. Plus, we couldn't help but plan our own Louisiana vacation when reading this article in The Western Star (and we're not even golf enthusiasts). Read More

Gray Plantation Golf Course in Lake Charles, Louisiana is one of the 15 courses featured on Louisiana's Audubon Golf Trail.

Mississippi snags two of the Top 10 spots in USA Today's "Best Historic Small Town" feature USA Today has announced their Top 10 List for "Best Historic Small Town" and half of them are located in STS member states. Congrats to Mississippi for snagging two of those spots with Clarksdale and Natchez. Read More

Brandon Hall Historic Home Natchez, Mississippi

INTERESTING READ: Florida Before The Mouse Some of us know the attractions that were a must-visit while touring the Sunshine State, prior to the arrival of Mickey and Minnie. Whether it's a nostalgic trip or a first-time visit, this article offers interesting insight to Florida's tourist destinations and how they've evolved more than 100 years later. Read More

Southeast Tourism Society Corporate Partners