Atlanta,
GA – April 2015 / Newsmaker Alert / The
Travel
South USA (TSUSA) Board of Directors announced today it has restructured
the 50 year old organization’s staffing to better reflect the work being
done by Travel South USA’s veteran team of tourism professionals.
Elizabeth
A. Bittner now serves as President & CEO of the nation’s oldest and
largest regional tourism organization. Bittner, with over 25 years of experience
in the tourism industry, had served as Executive Director since 2004. Under
her leadership, Travel South USA experienced exponential growth, quadrupling
its budget and creating new marketing initiatives to increase travel to
and within the American South. TSUSA has gone from hosting one Domestic
Showcase event per year to now adding an annual International
Showcase. Additionally, TSUSA created the Ultimate Ad Challenge media
program, affording partners the chance to participate in advertising opportunities
previously out of budgets’ reach; enhancing research for marketing intelligence
among the organization’s partners, and organizing trade missions to Australia,
the Benelux countries, Brazil, China, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom,
increasing both domestic and international visitation to the South.
In
making the announcement, TSUSA Chairman Duane Parrish said, “Travel South
USA’s mission is as critical today as it was 50 years ago because it is
focused on delivering marketing value and continuing to evolve and adapt
to changes in the world, maintaining relevancy for its member states.”
Parrish, who serves as Director of South Carolina Department of Parks,
Recreation and Tourism, also commented on Travel South USA’s leadership
as the first regional tourism organization to step forward with Brand USA,
a public private partnership with the mission of promoting international
travel to the United States. “Travel South has now become the recognized
model for other organizations in working with the partnership on a regional
basis,” he said.
Rounding
out the leadership team, former Director of Partnership Events and Operations
Rob Nolen was named Vice President, Strategic Partnerships & Events
and former Director of Global Sales and Media Relations David Kemp was
named Vice President, Global Sales & Media Relations.
Nolen
joined Travel South USA in 2004 as an event manager and, according to Bittner,
has grown the quality and quantity of partners as well as attendance at
various TSUSA events in the past 10 years, including revitalizing Domestic
Showcase. New sponsors, schedule changes and a focus on social media have
significantly delivered more value to the destination hosts and the member
states.
Kemp
joined the organization in 2012. With decades of sales expertise in the
hospitality industry, he has increased international group business and
media exposure for the South during his tenure. Under his direction, TSUSA’s
Domestic Showcase media program has grown from a handful of writers in
attendance the first year to 27 travel journalists in 2014, resulting in
a total of 267 published articles nationwide about Southern destinations
resulting in close to 36 million media impressions in 2014.
About
Travel South USA
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, Missouri,
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. Tourism ranks throughout the region
as one of the top three industries, behind manufacturing and agriculture,
and is responsible for $133 billion in spending by visitors, generating
1.4 million direct jobs, $30 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.
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Contact:
Sam
Lacy
Digital
Marketing Manager
Travel
South USA
404-231-1790
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Travel
South USA: Facebook
/ Twitter / YouTube
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