The Travel South USA Board of Directors is proud to release a video message to our global trade and media partners titled,
One Day Closer. With the release of this video and promotional assets, the community of southern destinations, attractions, hotels, and service providers are reconnecting with our valuable partners around the world. We have 400+ tour operators and media professionals in 20+ countries that promote our region, and we are grateful every day for their creative and resilient spirit. We also recognize the challenges resulting from the current pandemic and economic crisis will require all of us to work together as we move towards the recovery of global travel. The
One Day Closer
video was curated with support from Miles Partnership and serves as a bridge to engage partners as we start to recover from this crisis. We want the Southern USA to be top in the consideration set and for our Travel South USA Ambassadors to share the region's authentic destinations. Alongside this video there will be distribution of e-newsletters, owned social media channels, and launch of a new program, U.S. Roadshows, planned for Fall 2020 and Spring 2021.
To complement the video that is available in English, French, Dutch, German, Italian, Simplified Chinese, and Portuguese, we created a
Global Resource page on our industry-faced website that houses content from our member states. The site includes royalty-free images and videos, downloadable training tools such as in-language visitor guides and flyers, destination highlights, and story ideas for media inquiries. Travel South USA is committed to assisting our global partners and providing all the necessary tools to keep the Southern region top of mind for long-haul travel in 2021 and beyond.
At the same time, we are announcing revised dates for the upcoming Travel South USA's International Showcases. Through unprecedented cooperation, we will be working with four state tourism offices, city DMOs, and convention venues to host Travel South USA's International Showcase over the next four years. Host cities and states (New Orleans, Louisiana - Louisville, Kentucky - Memphis, Tennessee - and Atlanta, Georgia) agreed to shift the date they would host International Showcase by one year. Therefore, the new dates for each city and state are:
- November 30 - December 3, 2021, New Orleans, Louisiana at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans
- November 27 - 30, 2022, Louisville, Kentucky at the Omni Hotel Louisville
- December 4 - 7, 2023, Memphis, Tennessee, at the new Memphis Renasant Convention Center and adjacent Sheraton Memphis Downtown Hotel.
- December 2 - 5, 2024, Atlanta, Georgia
"Our purpose has always been to host top-quality international product managers and journalists in a boutique-style marketplace that's focused on the authentic South. We are appreciative of the leadership of New Orleans & Co, Louisville CVB, Memphis Travel, and the Atlanta Visitor & Convention Bureau," shared Liz Bittner, President & CEO, Travel South USA. "From the start, the DMOs tourism and convention teams jumped into action to adjust the contracts. Each city was proactive in their willingness to shift dates, and it was not only inspiring but speaks volumes about our industry during this crisis. Now we can turn our attention and rebuild strong business alliances that will result in delivering millions of visitors and economic impact on our communities at a critical time. We will continue to provide the leadership to grow a strong and robust International Showcase program for all delegates for years to come."
As each day passes, we move
One Day Closer to welcoming international visitors to the Travel South USA region. As southern states begin the challenging climb to reopen safely, we are confident the visitor economy in these states will also recover and rebound. Research and social sentiment have indicated that tourism will also recover in phases, i.e., first local, then regionally and nationally, and finally internationally. It is during these challenging times that the strength of the Travel South USA region is critical as we look to collaborate and support our tourism partners through decades of investments domestically and internationally.
Registration for Roadshows and other events will open in July, for the latest news please visit
www.TravelSouthUSA.org.
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