This is a reminder that the next meeting of the National Council of State Tourism Directors will be in conjunction with TIA's Marketing Outlook Forum (MOF) in Charlotte, North Carolina. It will occur on Monday, October 22, at 2 p.m. in the Providence Ballroom III at the Westin Charlotte. If you have not yet responded as to your plans to attend, please RSVP by sending an email to kriley@tia.org.
On October 24 and 25 in conjunction with the Marketing Outlook Forum in Charlotte, state tourism directors have an historic opportunity to meet with the director generals from the 31 provinces in China. China's economy has grown faster than any other economy in the world over the past decade, and the UN World Tourism Organization has predicted that 215 million Chinese will travel out of the mainland by 2020. This meeting provides an unprecedented opportunity for state tourism offices to forge important relationships with leaders in this critical market.
The dinner and introductions will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 24 followed by a meeting and briefing beginning with breakfast at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 25 and concluding by noon with an official signing ceremony. All activities will take place at the Westin Charlotte.
As a show of interest and respect, it is important that as many state offices participate as possible. Protocol dictates that the state tourism director should represent the state. However, should circumstances absolutely prevent the involvement of the state tourism director, the next highest ranking individual should be sent. For more information, please contact Bruce Bommarito, vice president of international marketing (bbommarito@tia.org) or his assistant, Samantha Wheeler (swheeler@tia.org).
Extended by a half a day with an additional half a day optional programming presented by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, this year's Marketing Outlook Forum (MOF) is packed with relevant and timely information. The Marketing Outlook Forum Planning Committee, chaired by our own Lynn Minges, tourism director for North Carolina, has worked hard to bring travel industry marketing and research leaders together for concentrated discussions focusing on a plethora of topics important to state tourism offices and the industry, including: the current state of the U.S. travel industry and outlooks by sector, emerging consumer markets and trends, international inbound market developments, the rapidly evolving nature of the Internet and its use for online travel planning and booking, as well as a number of special sessions designed to address the unique informational and networking needs of members of the attractions segment of the travel industry. For more information on the Marketing Outlook Forum and to register, visit www.tia.org/industrymeet/MOF/index.html.
The questionnaire for the 2007-2008 National Council of State Tourism Directors Annual Survey of State and Territory Tourism Office Budgets is currently in the field. The questionnaire was sent via email. It is also available for download at http://www.tia.org/Councils/NCSTD/Budget.html. Please direct any questions to Kathleen Riley, Manager, National Councils, at kriley@tia.org or 202.408.8422.
Mark your calendars for the third NCSTD Spring Forum at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, DC, February 27-29. The tentative program schedule calls for arrivals and an evening event on Wednesday, February 27; general and committee meetings, TIA program update, open forum discussion and a hosted dinner on Thursday, February 28; and the NCSTD business meeting on Friday morning, February 29, ending by noon. The Grand Hyatt is conveniently located in downtown Washington, DC, at 1000 H Street NW. Watch your inbox for more details and information on making hotel reservations.
During ESTO, the most recent web development plans for DiscoverAmerica.com, the Official Travel and Tourism Website of the United States, were discussed in detail with the state tourism directors, and valuable feedback and recommendations were provided to TIA. These recommendations included the importance of updating the states on partnerships and sponsorships as they are formed as well as the need to review the content for each state that will be submitted for translation and search engine optimization. Click here to review the update presented at ESTO.
DiscoverAmerica.com is currently editing the content previously submitted and sending the edited content to all states and territories for review, approval and comment. The deadline for completing this process was September 28. For any questions about content on DiscoverAmerica.com, please contact Rebecca Pearson, rpearson@tia.org.
The temporary WHTI accommodation that allowed U.S. citizens to travel by air within the Western Hemisphere using an official Department of State proof of passport application receipt ended at midnight on September 30. WHTI, a law enacted in January 2006, requires all airline passengers to have a valid passport to enter and depart the U.S. and will be extended to land borders and seaports sometime in 2008. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a temporary rule in June that allowed air passengers to proceed with their summer travel plans with the application receipt following an unprecedented demand for passports that the State Department was unable to meet.
Arizona, Vermont and Washington are all working with DHS on WHTI complaint drivers' licenses. These states will develop technologically enhanced drivers' licenses that will provide residents, who voluntarily apply and qualify, with a document acceptable for use at U.S. land and seaports. It is expected that these enhanced drivers' licenses will be slightly more expensive than standard state drivers' licenses and will require proof of citizenship, identity, and residence. WHTI compliant forms of identification can be used for land and sea entry in lieu of government-issued ID and proof of citizenship (a driver's license or birth certificate).
The Department of Commerce reported that 3.8 million international visitors traveled to the United States in June 2007. For the first six months, international visitation was up over 8% from the same period in 2006 and 12% for the month of June alone. Spending by international visitors was also up 10% for the first six months of 2006; spending was $10 billion for June, up 14% over June 2006. Overseas international arrivals were up 8% for the first six months of the year and arrivals in June were 12% over June 2006. Canadian visitation was up 9% over June 2006 and Mexican arrivals were up 25% in June.
This year's ESTO at The Phoenician in Phoenix, Arizona, is receiving rave reviews. Feedback from the post-conference survey is overwhelmingly positive. Attendance broke previous records. ESTO 2007 was a great success, thanks to the combined efforts of the volunteers who helped developed the program, the host state and destinations and the TIA staff. Delegates attended from all 50 states and 46 state tourism offices were represented. The presentations from ESTO 2007 are available online. If you attended and did not receive a link to the speaker presentation page, please contact kriley@tia.org.
Diane Shober (WY) and Paul Mayer, executive director of Connecticut's Central Regional Tourism District, have agreed to return as co-chairs of the ESTO Education Committee for 2008. The committee will meet on October 22 in conjunction with TIA's Marketing Outlook Forum to begin planning for ESTO 2008 in Bonita Springs, Florida, August 23 – 26.
At the ESTO closing banquet, Bud Nocera (FL) was honored as the 2007 State Tourism of the Year for his focused leadership and significant accomplishments as President and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA. Ten state tourism offices took home NCSTD Mercury Awards for excellence in 11 different categories: The Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism won for Information/Welcome Center Programs; the Illinois Bureau of Tourism and the South Dakota Department of Tourism both took home awards for Special Promotions; the South Dakota Department of Tourism also won for Co-operative Marketing; Travel Michigan won for Television Broadcast Advertising and for Best Overall Program; the Mississippi Division of Tourism won for International Marketing; Travel Montana was recognized for its Radio Broadcast Advertising; the North Carolina Division of Tourism, Film & Sports Development won for Niche Marketing; the Virginia Tourism Corporation took home awards for Film/Audio Visual and for Technical Marketing; the Utah Office of Tourism was recognized for its Print Visitor Guide; and the Wyoming Office of Travel and Tourism won for Print Advertising. Congratulations to all 2007 award winners!
For a comprehensive listing of upcoming state and regional tourism conferences, industry meetings, conventions, and trade shows, check out TIA's online Meetings Calendar.
StateSide is the official e-newsletter of the National Council of State Tourism Directors (NCSTD), an industry council of the Travel Industry Association (TIA). StateSide is a free service of TIA, produced by its National Councils Department under the direction of Patty Hubbard, Vice President, National Councils. You receive this communication as a benefit of your NCSTD membership within TIA. Please direct comments or suggestions to Kathleen Riley, Manager, Council Programs at 202.408.8422.
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The National Council of State Tourism Directors (NCSTD), an industry council of the Travel Industry Association (TIA), is comprised of the tourism directors of the 50 states, the U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. The mission of the NCSTD is to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and leadership on travel industry issues impacting states and territories. For more information on NCSTD programs and activities, visit http://www.tia.org/councils/ncstd/index.html.
The Travel Industry Association (TIA), in existence since 1941, is:
The Washington DC based, non-profit association that represents and speaks for the common interests and concerns of all components of the U.S. travel industry;
The recognized leader in promoting and facilitating increased travel to and within the United States in order to make America the world's number one tourism destination; and
The authoritative and recognized source of research, analysis and forecasting for the entire industry and its primary spokesperson to the domestic and international media.
For information on TIA programs and activities, visit www.tia.org. For additional consumer destination information, visit www.seeamerica.org.
NCSTD Spring Forum Washington, DC February 27-29, 2008
Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations Bonita Springs, Florida August 23-26, 2008
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For more information about TIA, go to www.tia.org.
