DEAR INDUSTRY COLLEAGUES,
The U.S. Department of Commerce National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) recently released that international visitors spent more than $68.8B on U.S. travel and tourism-related goods and services (Jan. 1-June 30, 2022). This is up nearly 105% when compared to the same period last year, and is credited with injecting, on average, more than $380M a day into the U.S. economy. These cumulative travel exports in the first six months of 2022 were 57% of the $120.5B of travel exports during the first six months of pre-pandemic 2019.
What does this mean for the South? International visitors are beginning to return, and marketing partnerships and collaboration to gain market share are more important than ever. The competition is fierce and well-funded.
In August 2020, at the height of the pandemic and with the help of the Coraggio Group, Travel South USA adopted a new vision, mission, position and set of values to guide our efforts.
To reach our goals, we will need the cooperation of everyone. No one state, one city or one vendor will create a Thriving Southern USA that Authentically Welcomes the World. It will take strategic planning, creative problem-solving, flexibility and partnerships.
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Therefore, for every campaign, activation and event we consider, we look for metrics and insights that will move us toward our goals. We measure awareness, consideration, bookings and satisfaction. We count partnerships, meetings, training, engagements, earned media, published articles and impressions.
We thank you for this privilege to share with the world our authentic Southern destinations, hotels, restaurants, attractions and experiences. We invite each and every one of you to join us on this journey. We offer all levels of partnership activities, including hosting FAMs, participating in International Showcase and/or Global Media Marketplace, contributing advertising dollars to co-op campaigns and joining us on missions. We recognize that the investment of your state tourism offices and partners comes with the expectation of strong returns, and we will work hard to overachieve.
See you soon at International Showcase in Kentucky or on the road.
Sincerely,
Doug Bourgeois
Assistant Secretary, Louisiana Office of Tourism
Travel South USA Board Chair 2022-23
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| MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES |
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INTERNATIONAL SHOWCASE SPONSORSHIPS
We still have several sponsorship opportunities available to increase visibility for your destination! Gain exposure to over 500 tourism professionals at International Showcase, including tour operators and international media. |
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| SOUTHERN SUCCESSES |
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Visit Lake Charles Extends One Collaboration, Reaches 60K Visitors
“Eavesdrop” on our Q & A with the Louisiana DMO to learn how building relationships with content creators can extend value – and reach – for your destination.
You’ve read about the Travel South collaboration with NOMADasaurus from Australia in previous editions of our newsletter, but this month, we want to localize the impact of that collaboration to help you understand the potential for your destination. To this end, we chatted with Kathryn Shea Duncan, Director of Social Media for Visit Lake Charles, to learn how she leveraged the collaboration – and then some.
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| IN THE NEWS |
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MISSION: CULTIVATING CANADA
Canada has been – and will continue to be – the most impactful international export market for our Southern states. Hear how Travel South’s Canadian Mission kicked off and what lies ahead to continue cultivating this critical market. |
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THE POWER OF INFLUENCERS IN ALABAMA
Videos from two Brazilian influencers about the Unclaimed Baggage store in Alabama went viral, receiving over 7M views and attracting attention to the influencers’ Southern USA road trip. |
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THE BIG EASY DOWN UNDER
New Orleans was featured with a cover story in QANTAS’ inflight magazine, Travel Insider, in August. The “Indulge Your Senses” subtitle truly represented this well-crafted article that showcased many Big Easy highlights to the Australian market. |
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| | | | | | | | | BY THE NUMBERS | | | | | Travel South’s Music Road Trip Campaign, a multi-state DMO partnership featuring Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, was the first of its kind for media and content powerhouse Atlas Obscura. An Explorer’s Guide Itinerary and 12 new Place Pages were created for the campaign. These will live on Atlas Obscura’s website and have already received promotion via the publisher’s social channels, newsletter and display ads. To date, campaign performance is strong:
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IMPRESSIONS | | | | | | 4:58
TIME SPENT | | | | |
| 40%
OVER GOAL | | | | | | | | | | UPCOMING EVENTS | | | | | |
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FITUR & SPAIN MISSION
January 18-22, 2023
Join us for the opportunity to build new and enhance existing relationships with key tour operators, travel agencies, airlines and media in Spain. This mission includes the opportunity to exhibit at the International Tourism Fair in Fitur.
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BRAZIL MISSION
February 6-10, 2023
Come with us to meet with international tour operators, product managers and editorial media in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
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LONDON OUTDOORS/NORDIC SALES DAYS
March 20-26, 2023
In collaboration with state tourism offices, Travel South USA will be in London to celebrate the outdoors. This will be followed by a trip to the Nordic region to participate in the FDM Show and Discover America Denmark. Join us!
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