Federal Agency, Regional Group Unite to Boost Post-Hurricane Tourism on Gulf Coast; $500,000 Grant Designed to Promote Fresh Visitation after Hurricane Recovery.

GULFPORT, Miss. -- The U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration has awarded a $500,000 matching grant to Southeast Tourism Society (STS) to enhance tourism marketing of the Gulf Coast.

The grant is designed to assist the portions of Mississippi and Louisiana damaged by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

"One of the challenges of recovery is informing potential visitors exactly what tourism products are available on a timely basis," said Ben Erulkar, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. "This grant provides seed money for an integrated and targeted campaign over an 18-month period."

As grant recipient, STS is accumulating matching funds and services and forming a coalition of tourism industry professionals to create a marketing campaign.

"We want to accumulate as much money as possible and as much donated advertising time and space as possible to make the grant have a significant impact," said Bill Hardman, president and CEO of STS. "Much of the creative aspect of the campaign will be donated, meaning we will have that much more money to place the marketing message in appropriate media."

STS is a tourism promotion trade association with more than 700 members in 11 Southeastern states. It was created in 1983.

"We have a solid track record of creating alliances and fostering cooperation within the tourism industry, and that will lead to success for this grant," Hardman said.

Hardman pointed to data that show the impact and importance of tourism marketing.

He cited research from the Mississippi Development Authority-Tourism Division that shows a $13 benefit for every $1 invested in domestic consumer ad placement and production.

"Across the Southeast, research shows that tourism succeeds the most when it is marketed well. This grant is a step in the right direction to assist the Gulf Coast in its recovery," said Craig Ray, Director of Mississippi Development Authority's Tourism Development Division.

The tourism departments in Mississippi and Louisiana already have indicated a willingness to participate in the matching funds program, and media that have said they want to participate by donating or subsidizing advertising placements are Southern Living, Madden Preprint Media and USDM.net.

"There is a great community within the tourism industry in the Southeast," said Angele Davis, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. "Cooperative efforts such as this marketing grant will help bring back more and more visitors to the Gulf coast and benefit the broader economies of both Louisiana and Mississippi."

About Southeast Tourism Society (STS)

Founded in 1983, Southeast Tourism Society (southeasttourism.org) is dedicated to the promotion and development of tourism to its member states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The membership includes state travel offices, attractions, hotels, motels, resorts, convention and visitors bureaus, airlines, car rental agencies, newspapers, magazines and other travel-related organizations.