Southeast Tourism Society honors CVB as
‘Tourism Office of the Year’
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (April 24, 2018) – The St. Tammany Parish Tourist and Convention Commission (STPTCC) was presented the Tourism Office of the Year with budget of more than $2 million by the Southeast Tourism Society (STS) at the association’s inaugural Connections conference in Myrtle Beach.
STS each year honors exemplary individuals and organizations involved in tourism marketing. The STPTCC was one of 14 winners of Shining Example Awards recognizing excellence in tourism. Louisiana, with four winners, was the most acknowledged state. STPTCC President and CEO Donna O’Daniels accepted the award for the commission. Also on hand were commission board chair T.J. Smith, executive board member Sharon Lo Drucker, and staff members Christina Cooper, Zondra Jones, and Yolanda Paz.
The STPTCC, which promotes tourism in St. Tammany Parish, markets the area as Louisiana’s Northshore. Founded in 1976, its mission is to market and promote St. Tammany Parish as a destination for visitors and increase the economic impact of tourism for its residents. Tourists spent $715 million in St. Tammany Parish in 2016, the last year for which numbers are available. The STPTCC markets St. Tammany Parish, the state’s fourth largest tourism economy, through ad buys, media outreach, group sales, visitor guide and brochures and its website, www.LouisianaNorthshore.com, as well as via social media.
Other Shining Example honorees in Louisiana included Natchitoches Christmas for Top 20 Festival of the Year; Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, Governmental Tourism Leadership Award; and Shelley Johnson of Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana CVB, who received the Beacon Award.
The Southeast Tourism Society (southeasttourism.org) promotes and develops tourism in its 12 member states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Its headquarters are in Atlanta. Membership includes state travel offices, convention and visitors bureaus, lodging properties, attractions, travel media and other travel-related organizations.