TTIA Chooses Rockport for Regional Tourism Workshop

Rockport, Texas (November 5, 2009) – TTIA chose Rockport for its Regional Workshop Wednesday, November 4^th at the Saltwater Pavilion in Rockport.

TTIA is a nonprofit organization made up of businesses, organizations, associations and individuals dedicated to developing Texas tourism to its fullest potential. The purpose of the Association presenting these workshops is to gather regional governments, convention and visitor bureaus, chambers of commerce, lodging facilities, attractions, restaurants, retail establishments and others involved in local tourism.

The day started off with a continental breakfast sponsored by Texas Coastal Bend Regional Tourism Council. Mayor Todd Pearson gave a warm welcome to the attendees of the event. There was a brief overview of TTIA by Vice President, David Teel. Terry Colley, Deputy Executive Director of the Texas Historical Commission presented “This is Not Your Father Heritage Tourism”.  The next speaker was Roger D. Hanagriff, Associate Professor in Agriculture Business at Texas A&M University Kingsville. He talked of the importance of building a visitor survey plan and learning how visitors perceive our community and tracking their stays. The third speaker of the morning was Penny Reeh, the Executive Director of Texas Festivals and Events Association. From fundraising to developing a business plan, from marketing to sponsorships Penny explained event planning from A-Z and how to manage a well-run, professional and successful event.

After lunch Jeff Crilley from Real News Public Relations gave an informative presentation on “Marketing Without Money”. The last presenter of the day was Jim Bob McMillan, Deputy Director of Texas Commission on the Arts. He discussed the facts about “Arts Tourism and how to attract the cultural tourist to our community” and also how to qualify for Texas’ Official Cultural District Designation status and how to access the resources available to our community.

“It is important for our community to host events and meetings such as this to increase our occupancy tax during the middle of the week”. States Diane Probst the President/CEO of the Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce.

For more information on tourism projects contact the Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce at www.rockport-fulton.org .