State Tourism Meetings by John Dersham

Last Tuesday and Wednesday I attended the quarterly statewide tourism meetings held this time at Vulcan Park, in Birmingham. These meetings consist of four statewide organizations that play different roles in promoting tourism in Alabama. This year I have the honor of being the Vice President of the Alabama Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus, which is one of the four organizations.
These meetings were extremely well attended last week. Many people wanted to hear the forecast for tourism this year and to see all the new marketing plans being unveiled by the state. The forecast for tourism this year is better than last. Several key areas of the economy have improved and along with that have come improved tourism trends which began last year. Gas prices are a definite concern for many markets. We feel here in DeKalb County we will do pretty well even with higher gas prices due to the fact we are a fairly short drive for most of our demographics. On average our tourists come from up to eight hours away and most from five, or less. This means we will remain an affordable trip for most. The other good thing is that once a tourist is here we are a low cost destination to visit.
Lee Sentell, State Director of Tourism brought his entire staff. They presented the new marketing plans for this year. This year’s theme is the “Year of Alabama Music”. This theme will be promoted in brochures, magazines and on television. Raycom is a chain of nearly fifty network television stations around the country. Raycom is owned by the Retirement Systems of Alabama, Dr. David Bronner, CEO. In addition to the television stations RSA has the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail and Renaissance Hotels. The tourism commercials will be aired on Raycom stations, nationwide. In the eight years Lee Sentell has been Director of Tourism, the Alabama Department of Tourism has won four major industry awards for its “Year of” marketing programs. The ad company that produces all the advertising both in print and visual is Luckie Marketing out of Birmingham. DeKalb County is well represented in the Year of Alabama Music. Each county is included in the publication with their past and present music artists with historical notes on their history or if a current artist it tells us where they are currently playing music. Also included are the name of restaurants and lounges that play live music all around the state. A picture of Fort Payne’s Ol’ Tymers Bar B Que and Blues is featured as a cover picture on the Year of Alabama Music Facebook page (Year of Alabama Music). For more information on the Year of Alabama Music visit their website at www.yearofalabamamusic.com