Travel South USA’s (TSUSA) second annual Global Week kicks off this week in Atlanta at the Grand Hyatt Buckhead. Travel South Global Week is designed to gather state tourism office staff, destination marketing professionals and media vendors for three days to focus on the region’s global competitiveness and strategies to increase market share.
The program includes three components: Global Summit presentations, Travel South USA Board of Directors Meeting and State Workshop Roundtables, and the Domestic & Global Innovation Challenge.
Global Summit is designed as a master class for destinations to address the recovery of global markets to the South. Curated industry experts share insights on the ever-evolving international markets, specific to the South, outlining the plans and activations that will allow the Southern region to gain more market share. This year features an incredible lineup of speakers, including Adam Sacks, Tourism Economics; Erin Francis-Cummings, Destination Analysts; Carroll Rheem, iolite group; Amanda Hills, MMGY/Hills Balfour UK; Martin Stoll, Sparkloft Media; Maureen Lachant, Visit USA Committee France; and Global Partner representatives from Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, the Nordic Region, The Netherlands; and Brand USA.
Attendees will also have access to a series of Landscape Reports offering a boots-on-the-ground viewpoint on the industry’s current state and opportunities for recovery, specifically for the 12 Travel South USA states. TSUSA commissioned best-in-class agencies to address the factors affecting travel in depth. These white-paper reports include a brief look at the country’s economic conditions, the availability of long-haul flights, our global gateways and connectivity to the South, governmental restrictions on travel, border controls, insurance issues, consumer behaviors, consumer sentiment, tour operators’ business models and shifts in products, as well as the shakeup and evolution of media players.
Travel South USA’s Board of Directors meeting and State Workshop Roundtables engage state travel directors and their staffs as we work collaboratively to establish the tourism industry as the leading sector of the Southern USA’s economy, and make it a top-tier global destination through our marketing, sales and strategic partnerships. The staff workshop and listening sessions will be facilitated by Trever Cartwright, Partner, Coraggio Group.
“I am so appreciative of the expertise the Coraggio Group brings to our discussions,” shared Liz Bittner, President & CEO, Travel South USA. “In May 2020, we started a five-year strategic-planning process, which was a calculated risk during the pandemic. We are continuing to monitor, adapt and continuously improve our process and increase the value proposition for the Southern travel industry.”
Finally, during Global Week, the state tourism offices also will have the opportunity to hear presentations from 15 media vendors selected by a taskforce, offering unique and innovative regional proposals. This new Ultimate Innovation Challenge is designed to bring out the very best ideas in creativity, innovation and measurement to inspire travel and visitation to and within the 12 member states. This builds off the 15-year success of the Ultimate Ad Challenge, which has had more than $11.8 million in ad revenue.