From 2012-2020, the Travel South USA region moved onto the global stage in a big way! Not only did we report year-over-year increases for nine years straight in a row, but we also captured market share, often beating the national averages significantly. While many of our competitors were better funded with bigger marketing war chests, together, we focused on leveraging our pennies to make dollars in the places where we could deliver high-value returns. We often say we were an overnight success that took ten years!
In 2019 alone, the region reported $10 Billion in spending from the international market, with travelers visiting multiple states, staying longer, and seeking out the unique and quirky hidden gems in the South – then the pandemic hit.
This past year has been exceedingly difficult for all of us in the travel industry. State tourism offices were called on to do many projects and programs that are typically not part of our work. That’s why I especially want to thank my fellow Board members for how they rose to the challenge.
We supported our Governors on Corona Task forces, coordinated providing lunches to school-age children at state parks, held virtual concerts to raise money for struggling gig-based musicians and worked with our vendors to outfit school buses with wifi routers in rural communities to assure virtual school was possible. All of us worked to advocate from the federal and state governments with our local industry associations to secure funds to keep the industry afloat. CARES monies, PPP, EDA, grants – it was an alphabet soup of programs!
And during all of this – Travel South USA was laser-focused on supporting state tourism offices, ramping up research and insights specific for the region and states, inspiring and training thousands of sales ambassadors across the world, deploying the One Day Closer campaign, and working with U.S. Travel on the Let's Make Plans campaign, both for a domestic and international consumer audience.
This newsletter contains a list of the partnerships, campaigns, and programs for FY22. We invite southern DMOs, hotels, attractions, outfitters, tour companies, and journalists to join us as we invite back international travelers and gain market share from those valuable repeat visitors.
As I conclude my time as chair, I am thankful for the collaborative spirit of our region, and I am confident we have the exciting destinations and experiences to win back our share of the global market – and then some.
We are Travel South USA & we’re ready to recover and thrive on the global stage – come join us!
Sincerely,
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Chelsea Ruby, Commissioner, West Virginia Tourism & Board Chair, Travel South USA
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Canada is the top market for land and air travel to the South. An office in Toronto will help elevate awareness, bookings, visitors, and spending from the Canadians while supporting trade and journalists.
The Reach team includes Charmaine Singh, President & CEO, and Katie Durbin, Media Manager, with a full suite of travel and tourism professionals with decades of experience. The Canada Global Partner Program will introduce content creation and digital marketing, social media programming and includes recruiting Canadian tour operators and travel media for International Showcase & Super FAMs in the Fall of 2021. Our primary focus will be public relations, influencer promotions, and the development of strategic partnerships across Canada.
Back by popular demand, will be a media mission in Toronto & Montreal, February 7 to 10th, 2022. State tourism offices, DMOs and attractions/outfitters/travel suppliers are invited to join us. Registration for the media mission is now open, and space is limited. The cost to participate is $1995.
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The team of Maria Loyola – Account & Trade Manager, and Chrystal Cazin, Marketing Director, have re-imagined and re-invigorated our strategy and tactics to capture more French and Belgian travelers as the borders open.
The France & Belgium Global Partner Program includes content creation, B2B and B2C digital marketing, new press kits, press releases, newsletters, podcasts, expat interviews, social media, and hosting French & Belgian tour operators for International Showcase & Super FAMs this fall. Our primary focus is targeting the trade and P.R. efforts to entice repeat travelers to make their plans to visit the South.
We will be adding a 3-day French Sales Mission in Paris, following attendance at ITB Berlin in March 2022. Meetings with product managers, journalists, and a travel trade workshop are planned. DMOs and attractions/outfitters/travel suppliers are invited to join us. Registration for the sales mission is now open, and space is limited. https://industry.travelsouthusa.com/france-sales-mission-2022
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NORDIC REGION - Denmark, Norway & Sweden
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Northern Europe is expected to bounce back in a big way for the South. With a combined population of 32.4 million people, who have 5-6 weeks plus 12 holidays of paid vacation time, disposable income, and a love for the U.S., we are ready when they are ready! Pre-pandemic, these consumers were seeking off-the-beaten-path destinations while on road trips with longer itineraries and more stops than other European visitors – making them a perfect match for the South.
Long-haul travelers also look to tour operators look to tour operators for in-depth guidance and confidence in booking for the South so we will re-emerge strong with travel trade activities in FY.22. Peter Hannaford with Five A Marketing https://five-ms.com will continue to be our boots-on-the-ground.
Our very popular Nordic Sales Days actions will now be October 30-Nov 1, 2021, in Copenhagen, immediately following Brand USA Week in London. We will participate in the FDM show and Visit Denmark showcase. State tourism offices, DMOs and attractions/outfitters/travel suppliers are invited to join us. Registration for the Sales Days is now open, and space is limited. https://industry.travelsouthusa.com/nordic-sales-days
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In which country does 81% of the population take an annual vacation? Why, The Netherlands, of course! Our Dutch friends have one of the highest percentages of people visiting the USA annually, translating into many repeat visitors and strong potential for southern destinations.
Those lucky ducks have twenty-five annual vacation days and love the outdoors, hiking, biking, music, cultural experiences, and enjoying our culinary delights. Fifty-one operators offer products to the Travel South region and are ready to send clients on individual tours, fly drives, and R.V. trips when the time is right.
Consumers depend on these professionals for personalized travel advice. We rely on Hanny Fluit, General Manager/CMO, and her team at Target Travel Marketing to help dig us out of this hole, as they have been steering our success in The Netherland since 2013. https://targettravel.nl/en/
Our strategies include continued investment in the immensely successful on-demand TravEcademy training platform with new and deeper modules for states and thematic itineraries, more e-newsletters to trade and press actions. In-person presentations that feature our products – from spicing up lunch with Tabasco to "how to pack" for visiting National Parks across the South are the priority. We may also bring back the progressive karaoke of southern songs—just because we loved the joy it gave to agents. Look for the strong delegation of Dutch operators at International Showcase & Super FAMs.
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At this moment in time, Brazil remains challenged by COVID; however, the vaccine roll-out is ramping up, and we plan to keep our efforts with webinars and podcasts for the next few months.
These innovative and entertaining programs are managed by the River Global team – Jose Madeira, Managing Director, and Allan Colen, our hero account director, https://www.riverglobal.net. We fully expect a full delegation of Brazilian operators at International Showcase this year and will have specialty FAMs available in Alabama and Mississippi.
The program of work for Brazil includes monthly newsletters to a curated list of 12,000+ trade and journalists and setting aside resources to invest in personal sales and training visits, operator activations, and journalist/influencers programming.
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Oh my, oh my, when will the Aussies and Kiwis come visit? We are holding our breath for late this year, but it may be early next; however, we believe they will ROAR back when they are able. In the meantime, we have some new, innovative, and content-rich campaigns planned with Vacaay.com. We are prioritizing in-person meetings, training, and consumer-facing booking events with tour operators.
We have had great success with our monthly webinars featuring participating states with chefs, musicians, Visit NC's Leave No Trace programming, and even a personal invite from Dolly Parton, so those will continue through the end of the year.
On June 24th, we had our first live event evening in Sydney. The amazing team at Gate 7 https://gate7.com.au, Jo Palmer, Managing Director, Tori Goddard, Director of PR and Penny Brand, Senior Account Manager helps craft our message, work with stakeholders and forge connections.
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Registration for Travel South USA Roadshow West, August 18-19, 2021, is currently open. Meet with inbound receptive focused on southern destinations in an intimate and relaxed setting before IPW.
International Showcase & Super FAMs in New Orleans, Louisiana is also open for registration –
Your state tourism office is taking the lead in organizing co-op programs with Brand USA and a few other initiatives, including ITB Berlin and IPW 2022. Please reach out to them and ask for information to participate with Travel South USA.
Liz, Rob, Meredith, Angelica, and Catherine can be reached at 404.231.1790. Call, email, send a carrier pigeon, etc. We want and need you with us as we rebound and bounce even higher!
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You are receiving this email because you have done business with Travel South USA or have expressed interest in Travel South USA via our website or at a recent industry event.
3500 Piedmont Road NE, Suite 210, Atlanta, GA 30305
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