Regional Tourism Organization Sets Lake Charles Meeting

LAKE CHARLES, La. (August 31, 2007)—The Southeast Tourism Society (STS) is supporting the Gulf Coast region hit by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina with a major meeting for the second time this year.

The annual convention of the 12-state travel promotion association will be at the L’Auburge du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles Sept. 5-7. It met in March in Biloxi, Miss.

“We scheduled our Lake Charles meeting before Hurricane Rita hit, and we never once doubted we’d be in Southwest Louisiana. We rearranged our spring meeting to support Biloxi as it continues to come back from Hurricane Katrina,” said Bill Hardman, president and chief executive officer of STS.

Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu will open the Lake Charles meeting (4 p.m. Sept. 4), with a speech about his state’s tourism industry and its recovery from the 2005 hurricanes.

One aspect of the industry’s revival has been “voluntourism,” volunteer work contributed by tourists, and the STS meeting includes a board of directors work session on the Creole Nature Trail. The board worked at the Jefferson Davis home and historic site in Biloxi during its spring meeting.

Other topics for the Lake Charles meeting include regional and national tourism trends, brand development and online marketing.

STS was created in 1983 as an eight-state organization; Louisiana was a charter member. It has grown to 12 states, and its major activities include travel promotion in the Southeast, continuing education for tourism professionals and public policy advocacy.

Its STS Marketing College, a three-year program leading to certification as a Travel Marketing Professional, is the only continuing education program of its kind in the U.S.

The STS member states are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

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