Discover the Southern Way!

"The Mission of Travel South USA is to promote, foster and encourage travel to and within the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina,

Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia."

WHAT'S NEW WITH TRAVEL SOUTH??

Travel South USA is busy preparing for their 2008 Spring Discover the Flavours of the South campaign May 7-10, 2008 in Toronto, Canada, where they'll be joining forces with SUSTA, Longo's and CAA for 4 exciting days. Get all the details here

26th ANNUAL TRAVEL SOUTH SHOWCASE SUCCESSFULLY CONCLUDES IN GULFPORT-BILOXI MISSISSIPPI

Travel South USA recently completed their 26th Annual Showcase in Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi. Over 600 Southern tourism partners including 148 Travel Buyers, 25 Travel Service Providers, 24 Editorial Media attendees, 12 State Tourism Offices and 273 Appointment taking Suppliers experienced four days of appointments, tours and first class networking opportunities, bringing over half a million dollars of economic impact to the beautiful Mississippi Gulf Coast.

"Hosting Travel South Showcase 2008 provided Mississippi an excellent and effective vehicle to share with the industry how the Mississippi Gulf Coast is bouncing back from the impact of Hurricane Katrina,” says Craig Ray, Director, Mississippi Development Authority, Tourism Division. “Part of the measure of success of an event such as Showcase is the buzz generated by the participants. The feed back I have received has been very positive and encouraging. We appreciate the tremendous support we have received from the industry in our rebuilding efforts."

2008 marked the 26th year of this successful program. In 1983, it began as the first regional, computerized marketplace to bring more group travel business to the South. The goal was to provide the easiest, most efficient way to book business in these states. Tampa, Florida was the first host city with a robust turnout of about 35 tour operators and 65 tourism suppliers meeting in one-on-one appointments.

Today, Showcase has grown to over 600 attendees, with Highlights including:

• Six unique pre-tours for Travel Buyers and Editorial Media
• Exciting Mississippi city tours from sailing to shopping and dining
• Four signature Travel South-style parties hosted by the Mississippi Development Authority, The Mississippi Gulf Coast CVB, Northern Louisiana CVB's, Kissimmee CVB, VISIT FLORIDA, Gaylord Hotels, Arabian Nights, Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores, Kennedy Space Center and WonderWorks
• Over 38,000 scheduled appointments for Travel Buyers and Suppliers
• State Preview Briefing Session featuring the Mississippi Gulf Coast and the twelve Travel South USA state directors...COMPLETE DETAILS

DON'T FORGET TO JOIN US FOR NEXT YEAR'S SHOWCASE APRIL 4-8, 2009 IN KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA!!!

TRAVEL SOUTH COMPLETES 2ND ANNUAL ULTIMATE ADVERTISING CHALLENGE

Atlanta (January 2008) – Travel South USA is pleased to announce the results of their 2nd Annual Ultimate Advertising Challenge. This program was designed in 2006 to increase advertising dollars spent to promote travel to and within the South.

After spending just over half a million dollars last year, 2008 brought in new proposals, agencies and ideas for this year’s Challenge. It also brought in a larger profit; over $200,000 MORE was spent as 6 out of 10 companies chosen to present to the Travel South delegation received orders up to$113, 500. New online and print advertising can be seen in 2008 and 2009 in Budget Travel, Madden Media, DreamScapes, Blue Lithium, Canadian Geographic Traveller and Toronto Star.

“The Ultimate Advertising Challenge is a well-executed project that creates world-class advertising opportunities and advertising collaborations among the Travel South USA’s 12 southern states,"said Susan Whitaker, Commissioner,Tennessee Department of Tourist Development and Travel South Board Chair. "The program is innovative, creative and enormously effective.” More information

TORONTO DISCOVERS "THE FLAVOURS OF THE SOUTH" THIS FALL

Travel South USA recently kicked off their Fall 2007 "Discover the Flavours of the South" campaign with a three-course southern dinner prepared by renowned southern ambassadors,Chef Phil Evans of Herons, The Umstead Hotel & Spa, Cary, North Carolina, Chef Ouita Michel, Holly Hill Inn, Midway, Kentucky and Chef Martha Foose, Viking Cooking School, Greenwood, Mississippi.

Each of the Southern states had an opportunity to talk about their state and all the exciting new attractions and events taking place in Fall 2007 as well as upcoming plans for 2008. In attendance were 20 local media constituents ranging from newspapers and magazines to radio, online sources and photographers.

Charmaine Pang, Travel Hot News.com writes," The local food scene is growing in the South, with an emphasis placed on locally sourced, seasonal and artisanal ingredients, and these talented chefs served as perfect ambassadors for the region."

The days following this event, Travel South joined as a new host for the 2007 Toronto Food & Wine Expo showcasing the region as one of the top culinary tourism markets in the world. As guests walked down the "Southern Highway" they were introduced to goodies such as Mississippi Cheese Straws, Louisiana Zap's potato chips, Tennessee's Jack Daniels and an array of Kentucky bourbons. Also available on-hand were vacation guides, press kits for 2008 and a variety of other literature. On Friday and Saturday our Southern Ambassadors were back on stage for the The Food Network Channel as they displayed how to make favorite southern dishes such as Sea Scallops with Kentucky Woodford Reserve served over grits, Tasso Ham & Scallion Hush Puppies and Southern Comfort Caramel Sauce with Gala Apples and butter poundcake.At the end of the week, all could agree that the Southern pavilion appeared to be a favorite as visitors gathered around to hear first-hand stories from those who live there as well as travel highlights and favorite southern recipes and foods. Cheers, ya'll!