Tourism Professional Extend Education
With Annual Program On Georgia Campus
Five local tourism professionals recently completed the second year of Marketing College, an educational program offered by the Southeast Tourism Society
Attending from the area were: Janice Farr, Sr. Vice-President / Property Mgt. with Sun Realty; Ali Beaux, Vice-President / Marketing with Sun Realty; Diane Sawyer, Director of the Currituck County Department of Tourism; Veronica Brown, Marketing Coordinator with the Currituck County Department of Tourism; and Russ Haddad, Director of the Elizabeth City Area CVB. They completed the second portion of a three-year professional development program that will lead to certification as a Tourism Marketing Professional (TMP).
Nearly 300 tourism professionals were enrolled in Marketing College this year. The week-long program turned the facilities of North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega, Ga., into a laboratory to teach tourism marketing.
STS Marketing College is recognized nationally for its training of tourism leaders. Thus far, 368 people have earned TMP certification.
“In the tourism industry, TMP certification carries a lot of weight,” said Bill Hardman, president and CEO of the Southeast Tourism Society, a 12-state organization that promotes travel and tourism in the Southeast.
The STS Marketing College began in 1992 to provide continuing education for tourism professionals. Tourism ranks as the first-, second- or third-largest industry in each STS member state. Students come from convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, attractions, hotels and other segments of the tourism industry.
The curriculum covers topics such as family vacation research, special events marketing, media relations and creative advertising. Heritage tourism and community/rural tourism are courses that have attracted special interest in recent years.
“The fundamental concept of STS Marketing College is that the curriculum is practical. What students learn can be put to practice as soon as they get back to their workplaces,” Hardman said.
Twenty-five senior executives in the travel and tourism industry were the volunteer faculty.
The 12 STS states are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. STS headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia.