CVB Looks to Bring Tours

officials are working to attract tour groups, hosting a familiarization tour and planning to produce a custom itinerary for group tour buyers.

Activities with the two tour companies have developed since group sales coordinator Louise Young Harris represented Cartersville and Bartow County’s tourism industry at the 30th-annual Travel South Showcase in Louisville, KY, early this month. The showcase was hosted by Travel South USA, which is based in Atlanta.

As a result of her work, CVB has hosted a familiarization tour for a Chattanooga-based group tour buyer and is planning a custom itinerary for another tour company in June, according to a press release.

Harris was one of 600 Showcase 2012 delegates. She met with 23 group tour buyers requesting more information on local attractions, accommodations and restaurants.

“I am energized by the results of Louise’s efforts at Travel South,” CVB Executive Director Ellen Archer said in the release. “Tour planning has become more immediate for group planners due to the shift to electronic marketing.  Delivering the product to the customers no longer depends on a printed tour catalog.”

She noted a decline in group tour business during the recession, but said CVB is “encouraged to have achieved more than 20 lucrative tour operator appointments upon return to Travel South Showcase following a four-year absence.”

Travel South USA estimates that Showcase 2012 generated close to $15 million in future tourism sales for the 11-state region. Delegates included tour buyers, journalists, southern destinations, hotels, restaurants, attractions and travel service providers.