STS To Add Missouri, District of Columbia, to Regional Tourism Organization
ATLANTA, Georgia – Southeast Tourism Society’s (STS) board of directors has voted to expand its current 12-state footprint by adding Missouri and the District of Columbia.
The Missouri Division of Tourism and Destination DC are the entities that will lead STS activity in the new locations.
STS, which has more than 1,200 members from more than 460 organizations, is a non-profit devoted to promotion and development of tourism throughout the Southeast. Tourism is a leading industry in each of its member states.
“This vote is historic. STS has grown in membership and territory through the years, and we look forward to welcoming Missouri and the District of Columbia. The expansion will be celebrated at our Connections conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, next February,” said STS President and CEO Monica Smith.
STS was formed in 1983 with seven states – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. It later added Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Virginia and West Virginia.
Smith explained that adding Missouri and the District of Columbia is strategic for STS and the Southeast.
“With West Virginia and Virginia as current members of STS, our next step was to add D.C. as a member region. In addition, we host our STS Congressional Summit on Travel and Tourism in Washington each year, so it’s only natural to have Washington in the STS membership network. Missouri participates in Domestic Showcase, and beginning in 2021 STS will manage that major group tour event. Therefore, we wanted Missouri to continue promoting its destinations at Domestic Showcase and for us to extend STS across the region,” Smith said.“This is great news as Destination DC can now work with STS and benefit from its education and advocacy programs from a strong regional organization,” said Elliott Ferguson, president and CEO of Destination DC, the official tourism marketing organization for Washington, D.C. “I look forward to working even more closely with my counterparts in the Southeast.”
“We are excited about the opportunities joining Southeast Tourism Society will provide for our staff and the Missouri Tourism industry,” said Lori Simms, Deputy Director. “We in Missouri are ready to hit the ground running. We can’t wait to get started.”
STS identifies four areas of concentration – education, advocacy, recognition and networking – and is especially known for STS Marketing College, its continuing education program.
Learn more about how we can help you adapt to the evolving marketing landscape and ramp up your efforts.
Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!
October 29, 2024
Key Takeaways from the 2024 Tennessee Governor’s Conference
We at Advance Travel & Tourism were honored to once again attend and sponsor the Tennessee Governor’s Conference on Hospitality & Tourism in Chattanooga. Because TNHTA and Chattanooga Tourism Co. put on such an insightful event, we wanted to share some of our key takeaways from the conference below.
October 24, 2024
Economic Impact & Advocacy Webinar
Econonomic Impact & Advocacy Webinar The impact of marketing isn’t always easy to measure, making destination marketers’ jobs difficult. Join Advance Travel and Tourism as we take a deeper look at how industry leaders are measuring the economic impact of their marketing efforts. This webinar recording looks at the impact of destination marketing while considering how [...]
October 14, 2024
Key Takeaways: Advance Travel’s Midwest Team and Mackinac Island Tourism
In case you missed it, here’s a quick review of 10 takeaways for 2025 travel trends. Advance Travel & Tourism expert, Eric Hultgren, shared informative insights during the webinar on September 10, 2024. With the help of case studies and conversation from our guests, we discovered more about what travelers will be looking for moving into 2025, [...]
WE BRING THE TRAVELER TO YOU.
CONTACT US TODAY TO DISCUSS HOW WE CAN HELP REVAMP YOUR TOURISM MARKETING STRATEGY.
"*" indicates required fields