Southeast Tourism Society

Southeast Tourism Society
Name	Southeast Tourism Society
Abbreviation	STS
Formation	1983
Headquarters	Raleigh, North Carolina
Region served	Southeastern United States
Membership	tourism organizations, CVBs, attractions

Southeast Tourism Society is a regional nonprofit trade association serving destinations and travel-related organizations across the Southeastern United States. It promotes regional travel and economic development through marketing, advocacy, education, and research, working with state tourism offices, convention and visitors bureaus, attractions, and hospitality partners. The organization stages industry events, produces research, and administers recognition programs that connect destinations such as Florida, Georgia (U.S. state), North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Maryland, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas with national promotion channels including institutions like the U.S. Travel Association, American Bus Association, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and media outlets.

History

Founded in 1983 amid growth in regional cooperative marketing, the organization emerged contemporaneously with initiatives by state offices such as the Florida Department of Commerce tourism efforts and the expansion of attractions like Walt Disney World Resort. Early partners included convention bureaus from cities like Atlanta, Charleston, South Carolina, New Orleans, and Nashville, Tennessee. Over decades the society adapted to changes brought by transportation projects like the Interstate Highway System upgrades, events like the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and crises such as Hurricane Katrina, which reshaped Gulf Coast destination strategies. The society’s archives record collaborations with cultural institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, historic sites like Monticello, and festivals including the Mardi Gras circuit.

Organization and Leadership

Governance is led by a board of directors drawn from convention and visitors bureaus, attractions, lodging companies, and destinations including metropolitan areas like Miami, Charlotte, North Carolina, Richmond, Virginia, and Birmingham, Alabama. Executive leadership has included executives with backgrounds in state tourism offices, municipal economic development departments, and large destination marketing organizations such as those in Orlando and Jacksonville, Florida. The society works with committees modeled on practices used by the United States Conference of Mayors and coordinates with partners including the Southeast Tourism Society Hall of Fame advisory panels, academics from universities like University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Florida, and Clemson University, and practitioners from hotels such as Hilton Worldwide and Marriott International.

Programs and Services

The society offers cooperative marketing programs, research services, workforce development, and continuing education modeled on curricula from organizations such as the Educational Institute of the American Hotel & Lodging Association and the U.S. Travel Association training initiatives. Its research products draw on methodologies used by institutions like the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Bureau of Economic Analysis to quantify visitation and spending patterns for destinations including Savannah, Georgia, Asheville, North Carolina, Gulf Shores, Alabama, and Key West, Florida. Programs include media familiarization tours with outlets such as National Geographic, Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, and partnerships for group travel with the American Bus Association. Professional development offerings mirror certification paths at schools like George Washington University and Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management.

Events and Initiatives

Signature events include an annual spring and fall conference that convene delegates from metropolitan areas such as Memphis, Tennessee, St. Augustine, Florida, Charlottesville, Virginia, and Little Rock, Arkansas alongside vendors from attractions like Dollywood, Universal Orlando Resort, Colonial Williamsburg, and historic house museums like The Hermitage. Initiatives have targeted niche markets through campaigns aligned with cultural festivals such as South by Southwest-style music tourism, culinary trails like those promoted in Nashville and Charleston, and heritage tourism corridors centered on sites like Fort Sumter and the Civil Rights Trail. Crisis response initiatives have coordinated with emergency management agencies following events such as Hurricane Maria and public health responses similar to planning by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Membership and Partners

Membership spans state tourism offices—examples include the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Georgia Department of Economic Development, and Florida Department of Economic Opportunity—regional convention and visitors bureaus from cities such as Greenville, South Carolina and St. Petersburg, Florida, attractions like The Breakers (Palm Beach), museums such as the National Civil Rights Museum, transportation partners including Amtrak and regional airports like Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, lodging brands such as Hyatt Hotels Corporation, and event planners linked to organizations like the International Congress and Convention Association. Corporate partners have included travel media, tour operators, and insurance providers servicing events and group travel.

Impact and Economic Contributions

The society’s marketing and research efforts aim to increase visitation to destinations across the Southeast, supporting sectors tied to hotels, restaurants, attractions, and transportation; measurable impacts echo analyses by the Bureau of Economic Analysis and visitor spending studies for locales like Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Daytona Beach, Florida. Collaborative campaigns have sought to drive international arrivals following market openings negotiated through consular and trade offices such as those of the U.S. Department of Commerce and to support recovery for urban centers like New Orleans after major events. Economic modeling used in its reports references input-output frameworks applied by universities including Florida State University and University of Georgia.

Awards and Recognition

The society administers awards recognizing destination marketing, event planning, and sustainable tourism practices, honoring projects similar to laureates of the Travel Weekly Magellan Awards, the PATA Gold Awards, and the ASTA Awards. Recipients have included convention bureaus from Orlando, festival organizers from Savannah, and historic site stewards from Mount Vernon, with categories spanning marketing campaigns, community partnerships, and crisis communications. The organization’s honors are cited by destinations in press materials and used by economic development offices when pursuing grants or partnerships with foundations such as the Ford Foundation and agencies like the National Endowment for the Arts.

Category:Tourism in the United States Category:Organizations established in 1983