Alabama Promotes Tourism by John Dersham

I suppose if you live somewhere other than Alabama you may not think of Alabama as a tourist state. In fact many people do not realize we have mountains or a beach in Alabama. The real scoop is that Alabama is one of the fastest growing tourism states and is up and coming, when many states suffer from the fact they used to be a big tourist draw and now they are struggling. Alabama has a very diverse landscape that attracts a diverse venue of visitor interests and experiences. We have the mountains and lakes to the north, the black belt and coastal plains midway south then we have the gulf coast. Alabama has become a top golfing state with the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail and we are a top fishing destination with magnificent lakes and now The Alabama Bass Trail which will promote fishing statewide. Some of the top fishing competitions in the world are in Alabama including the upcoming 2014 Bass Masters Classic at Lake Guntersville. We have Civil Rights tourism which has grow very quickly over the last several years as national publications have written articles about Civil Rights tourism in Alabama that includes the Civil Rights Museum and the 16^th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham and the famous walk from Selma to Montgomery and more attention is coming as the Civil Rights movement approaches its 50^th anniversary. Finally we have our Alabama Gulf coast which has been a top attraction for many years. Much of our tourism is greatly enhanced by the I-65 , I-20 and I-59 corridors that get our tourists here easily from all directions. Last year tourists spent $10.4 billion dollars in Alabama. This was our biggest year ever and our fist time to cross the 10B mark. It is very simple math. We are a low cost destination, easy to get to and we have a wide variety of things to see and do all across our very scenic state. Our award winning state director of tourism, Lee Sentell and his staff have constantly come up with clever ad plans that get nationwide exposure. Alabama advertises on 46 Raycom network television stations that cover much of our country including Hawaii. Currently Alabama’s theme in the commercial is “Alabama Road Trips”. The commercials begin with a man setting out to take a road trip in Alabama in his 1953 Blue Cadillac convertible. The road trips take him different places in Alabama and they always include some of our great restaurants and attractions. These are beautifully filmed and very inviting to watch. They compel the viewer to want to make an Alabama Road Trip. Alabama Tourism has also continued its 100 Dishes to eat in Alabama before you die. This campaign focuses on our great diversity of food in our state. Increasingly tourism has been contributing more to our economy. In this time of recession tourism has grown every year in Alabama. In fact, since Lee Sentell became Director of Tourism ten years ago the tourism income in Alabama has doubled. We can be proud of the fact so many people want to spend time here with us from all over the country.

Southeast Tourism Society Fall Conference by John Dersham

Twice a year the Southeast Tourism Society (STS) holds educational conferences for their 12 state southeastern USA coverage area. This fall we were in Virginia Beach. The conference is always held in one of the 12 states participating with this organization. STS is a leader in promoting tourism domestically and internationally with its focus on bringing people to our region. They are also a leader in education and development of tourism leaders and industry professionals from Destination Marketing Organizations, like ours and from Convention and Visitor Bureaus, attractions, lodgings, museums, theme parks, state and national parks. In fact if your job is in tourism or related to tourism these twice a year seminars are extremely beneficial. In this ever changing world where technology is changing faster than ever it is critical that as an industry we know how to utilize these technologies and strategies to help us more effectively tell our story to our visitors and potential visitors.  Those who do not adapt to the changes in the market place will get left behind. Our visitors are finding out about us very differently than they did just five years ago and completely different than fifteen years ago. Marketing tourism has gone from years and years of running ads in magazines and mailing out travel guides to the computer age of websites and online travel guides to social media, smart phones and instant access to travel information as you go.  If you are in our industry and do not have a mobile website or are not actively using social media, nearly 50% of today’s consumers will ignore you. According to a recent industry forecast given to us at our fall symposium, 40% of people are now getting some or most of their information about travel on their smart phones or through social media. It is predicted that in 2014 it will cross the 50% mark. In addition to offering all the latest technologies we have to be offering them correctly and smartly in order to be the destination that wins the customer. Our spring and fall conference which is comprised of 200 plus people from all over the southeast depend on this education to bring the information home and implement it. Tourism has been a shining star in the economy during our economic downturn that started in 2008, in fact tourism has had moderate growth as an industry this whole time. Last January the federal government listed tourism as the third fastest growing industries in the US with $3.1 trillion dollars spent by tourists in the US. The industry currently employs more than 7 million people. At this seminar we got a facts and figures update and trending report from industry leader and educator Dr. Suzanne Cook, Ph.D., now consultant to US Travel and former Senior Vice President of Research for the U.S. Travel Association. She reported tourism should continue to grow and is gradually growing at a faster rate as the overall economy improves. She reported that even though the average consumer is travelling shorter distances on most of their vacations they are taking shorter weekend trips, more often. Suzanne also reported international travel is up especially from Japan, China, the UK, Germany and Brazil. Our overseas vacationers are here for longer periods than domestic vacationers and they spent more money on average. We do the same thing when we travel abroad. All of the seminars at these conferences are specific to improving our performance or updating us on the facts, figures and latest trends.

In addition to the fall and spring conferences, STS offers a one of a kind three-year Marketing College program to help educate new employees to the industry but also to update seasoned veterans. Graduates of this program are awarded the TMP (Travel Marketing Professional) diploma.

For more information about the Southeast Tourism Society and how to become a member you can visit their website at www.southeasttourism.org

57th Annual VFW DeKalb County Agricultural Fair by John Dersham

Our fair is another example of the close fellowship we enjoy here in DeKalb County. The fair exemplifies fellowship of a whole lot of people volunteering their time, working together with civic organizations, agricultural organizations, art and cultural clubs, local businesses and schools to produce one of the finest county fairs you will see anywhere in our region. Year after year our VFW fair is a big success. It is the effort of so many people representing various entities in our county that make it so successful, including the efforts of the fair staff and committees headed up by VFW Fair Chairman, Charles Stephens. The difference in our fair, compared to other counties in our region has nothing to do with the midway and the carnival portion , but instead, the well organized, highly attended locally produced venues.

We treat our fair just like most everything else we do here in DeKalb County. We get involved and we participate. If you question this go to any local football game on Friday night and further more go to an away game and see how many are there from our home towns. We are exactly how we Americans like to define ourselves. We support the efforts of our communities in the area of schools, law enforcement, political offices, volunteer agencies, churches, local civic organizations and clubs. We support fighting for our freedom and for our way of life. When there is a disaster we are out in force to help.

Today in this crazy world where everything seems to be changing minute by minute it is nice to live and work in a community that has transcended these changes and kept its identity even in a world of high tech, population shifts and population diversity. We still seem like the good old USA and for that I am proud to call DeKalb County my home.

Our award winning fair seems a little better each year. This year we were blessed with the perfect weather again. There is something about fall and the fair. Those towns and counties who don’t get a slot in late September or October are missing part of the joy of it all. It is great to see pumpkins and Mums adorning the landscape with the clear blue sky above and just the right temperature. Our region really supports our fair, I guess because it is the very best fair anywhere around. The crowds are always good. We always go with our grand kids on Saturday and get the $15.00 all you can ride package. They have so much fun. They are so full of joy and innocence. It always takes me back to my early “Fair Days” when I was a kid... Somehow life seems so full of joy at the fair. Happy faces and lots of laughing, joyful families make a great contribution to that feeling.

Dekalb Wins Awards by John Dersham

Last Thursday I attended the annual meeting of Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association. They are a large regional tourist association covering the 16 counties in North Alabama. Every year they have an educational annual meeting with seminars, a member & board meeting and an awards luncheon.

If you make your living in tourism they are a major marketing and promotion resource for you. If you are not a member already we highly recommend joining. DeKalb Tourism is a Destination Marketing Company (DMO). It is our job to promote outside DeKalb County to bring visitors to our county, as tourists. We advertise in Magazines, newspapers, Radio, TV, press releases and via digital media, social media and our website, both traditional and mobile.  Alabama Mountain Lakes promotes much the same way with the difference being they promote all of North Alabama and we promote DeKalb County. AMLA promotes to get tourists to come to North Alabama on vacation and then get them to come to DeKalb County specifically.

This year we had wonderful seminars by leading companies in our industry. They updated us on the latest trends in advertising and targeting our audience. Things have changed a lot over the last several years as marketing via electronic means now rules and traditional advertising methods are not used as much. Digital Ads, social media and websites, both tabletop and mobile are where the potential visitor is getting their information these days. Mobile web searches now account for 40% of searching on line and by 2015 it will surpass traditional table top searches. DeKalb Tourism changes its marketing plans every year in order to make sure we stay current and are able to get the most exposure possible for the dollars we spend.

This year DeKalb County did especially well at our Alabama Mountain Lakes awards banquet. In August the nearly 500 member businesses of AMLA were asked to nominate top businesses or individuals who make their living in tourism. This year we are honored to have won three awards. DeSoto State Park, Ken Thomas and staff won Attraction of the Year, Nanda Patel of the Fort Payne and Gadsden Holiday Inn Express won the Good Neighbor award for Volunteerism during the 2007 tornado’s and for other volunteer work she has contributed in DeKalb and Etowah Counties. In addition I was awarded the Lasting Impression award which commemorates overall career contributions. I want to congratulate all the award winners and especially thank Alabama Mountain Lakes for their fabulous contribution to our industry in North Alabama. North Alabama has doubled the number of dollars spent by tourists in the last ten years. DeKalb County and several other counties in North Alabama have more than doubled in ten years. Congratulations to the 1,300 people in DeKalb County whom make their living in Tourism.

Boom Days, A Week of Fun

From the Pettis Family to Theresa Andersson Boom Days was a success. We had the perfect weather all week and a stellar day last Saturday for our annual all day downtown event. I want to thank Collins and Kathy Kirby, the Boom Days planning committee, all the volunteers and the City of Fort Payne for making Boom Days a very successful and unique festival for North Alabama. There were nearly 30 music acts this year over the course of the week and we are talking about talented artists. The very talented Pettis family started our week long event on Saturday evening the 8^th. It is hard to believe so much musical talent can exist in one family. If you were there, you know. It all ended last Saturday night with a performance by Theresa Andersson that defies explanation. Here is a lady who is the total one person show…literally! She writes, sings, plays drums, violin, and plays a host of foot pedals which play through a loop replicating her voice to give her own background singers.  Unfortunately I do not have the expertise to properly tell you how she did all of this but she performed to an extremely enthusiastic crowd. She received a rousing standing ovation and came out for two more songs.

Boom Days Saturday consisted of perfect weather, more artists and more vendors than ever before. There were two car shows, puppet shows, music all over the place, all day. There was food and drinks, a $500.00 cash rally, smiling faces and good crowds all day. I met a lot of out of town people who came to spend the day with us and some spent the night. Events like this are primarily local but they bring in outside spending too, all of this is helpful in collecting tax revenue. Retail spending, restaurants, lodgings and gas stations all show increases during Boom Days. Our area is a place visitors come to time and time again. Our beautiful scenery coupled with the quaint all Americana look of our towns makes DeKalb County a favorite among visitors throughout the Southeast.

If you missed Boom Days, you should try to attend next year. It is always third Saturday in September with the opening events beginning the Saturday night prior. For more information about Boom Days check out www.BoomDays.org

John Dersham

Fort Payne is Booming. It is Boom Days. by John Dersham

Being Director of Tourism is a fun and rewarding job, especially since our area of responsibility is for one of the absolute most premier tourist destinations in Alabama. We are a one of a kind destination in this state. This is reflected in the tourists who come from all over the state and from other states in our region who to them this area is also very special too. It has to do with our setting between two scenic mountains and our fantastic parks, towns, attractions, camps and a culture of tourism dating back more than 100 years. We are a low cost destination and easy to get to from major nearby cities. People come here to get out of city traffic and relax and enjoy nature. With all that said, we offer something else different than anywhere else. It is called Boom Days Heritage Celebration and it started last Saturday and ends this Saturday. Boom Days is a celebration of Fort Payne’s unique history of being “boomed” by wealthy industrials from New England at the end of the ninetieth century. They came here to make Fort Payne the next great industrial center based on Iron and coal. They built beautiful Victorian homes, fantastic downtown buildings, an Opera House and a beautiful Railroad Station. Unfortunately or maybe fortunately the boom did not last long since the wealth of mineral deposits was not in our mountains as they expected. Now more than a century later, their beautiful well made architecture still stands for us to enjoy. From this history comes a one week celebration to remember our heritage  If you enjoy music, arts and crafts, museums, food and drink, classic cars and vendors with products and entertainment for the whole family then you don’t want to miss Boom Days. We enjoyed a fantastic kickoff concert by the Pettis family last Saturday evening at the DeKalb Theater. Sunday was the Joe Underwood Gospel Singing followed by the Mayor’s Cup Golf Tournament. This Saturday’s all day event starts with a 5k run at 8am and the Alaga Syrup Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast from 8-11. At 10 am the festival is in full glory with kiddie train rides, Carriage rides, a $500.00 cash rally, the Pet Pawrade, two classic car shows in different parts of downtown and a day full of unending music acts from 10 am to 8 pm. Nearly 30 music acts will appear this year. To top the day off will be the showcase concert at the DeKalb Theater at 8 pm featuring April Mae & the June Bugs followed by internationally known music extraordinaire Theresa Andersson. Please come and enjoy this very, very special day in Fort Payne.
For more information on events and times keep your eyes posted on the Times Journal or visit the Fort Payne Boom Days website at www.boomdays.org