The Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) joined more than 350 of the country`s cultural, heritage and tourism leaders October 6 – 8 at the U.S. Cultural & Heritage Tourism Summit…
The Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) joined more than 350 of the country`s cultural, heritage and tourism leaders October 6 – 8 at the U.S. Cultural & Heritage Tourism Summit to develop a new national strategy to increase U.S. tourism by promoting the nation`s cultural and heritage attractions and experiences to travelers. The summit was held in Washington, DC.
Bringing together all sectors of the diverse travel and tourism industry, the summit celebrated ten years of hard work since the 1995 White House Conference on Travel and Tourism. TIA executives including President & CEO Roger Dow, Senior Vice President, Research, Suzanne Cook, and Vice President, Industry Relations, Dexter Koehl, participated in the conference continuing TIA`s decade-long role of facilitating growth and partnerships in the cultural and heritage tourism sector.
During the summit Dow spoke about the critical role that cultural and heritage tourism plays in strengthening the industry through Brand USA awareness, stressing to attendees that it is time to move beyond recovery and to focus on real growth. We have to talk about how we`re going to thrive, how we`re going to grow, how we`re going to exceed expectations, how this industry is going to be the fabric about what this country is about, and the defining part of what Brand USA is, Dow said.
Research conducted by TIA indicates that visiting cultural/heritage sites and attractions rank among the top activities of all travelers to and within the U.S. Studies by the U.S. Department of Commerce reveal that international visitors to the U.S. who engage in cultural and heritage experiences stay longer and spend more money. The summit program addressed the growing popularity of experience-driven travel, as well as the opportunity to engage America`s cultural and heritage treasures to help enhance the nation`s image internationally and foster global understanding.
In a related action, Dow joined Secretary of the Interior Gail Norton in a press conference October 6 to unveil the latest research report by the National Wildlife Refuge System, Banking on Nature 2004: The Economic Benefits of National Wildlife Refuge Visitation to Local Communities. Travel and tourism makes is it possible for Americans to get outdoors and learn about wildlife and conservation, Dow told the media. And the economic benefits are a tremendous boon to local communities. Click here for more information.
TIA is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the $593 billion travel industry. TIA`s mission is to represent the whole of the U.S. travel industry to promote and facilitate increased travel to and within the United States.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
