Travel goes south to New Orleans

Travel South International Showcase, one of the few ‘live’ trade shows in 2021, took place in the ‘Big Easy’ late last year. Here’s a round-up of news from the show

The Travel South International Showcase, the annual trade convention that shows off the tourism offerings of 12 U.S. states, has been hailed as one of the most successful in the event’s history.

Held in new Orleans, Louisiana, the ninth running of the show was a ‘live’ event that attracted 113 tour operators and journalists from 17 countries, with 6982 business meetings.

Tourism to a region that covers Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, north Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia has been badly hit by the pandemic: from 2007 to 2019 tourism to the South rose 61%, but 2020 and the global pandemic brought an 81% drop.

“This was an $8.8 billion industry in 2019 but since March 2020 job and revenue losses have been staggering and the South needs international travel back to replenish these losses and to grow again,” said Liz Bittner, President & CEO of Travel South.

“The travel economy cannot recover without international visitors,” she said.

“It was critical to kick-start recovery with a global welcome (in new Orleans); partnerships are crucial and the travel trade is vital.

“Travel South is inviting visitors to slow down, to go down a path less travelled. Together we can recover and rebuild. It’s time to make plans.”

Travis napper, Tourism Director for Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, said: “It was my first Travel South International Showcase and I was impressed with the turnout and the enthusiasm to get back to traveling, especially in the South.

“It was fun getting to represent Arkansas and build on the connections to bring new and returning travellers to Arkansas in the future.”