Paige Davis, director of sales at Holiday Inn Express Suites in Fort Payne, has earned certification as a “Travel Marketing Professional” after completing the three-year program of the Southeast Tourism Society Marketing College.
Davis was one of 37 new TMPs recognized at the STS spring meeting in Charlotte, N.C. STS Marketing College started in 1992 and, to date, 879 people have earned their TMP certification.
The STS Marketing College is a professional development program that, for one week each summer, turns the facilities of North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega, Georgia, into a laboratory to teach tourism marketing.
Instructors are working professionals in the travel industry such as convention and visitors bureau executives, public relations practitioners, sales and marketing consultants and research experts.
Davis said the program has helped her more effectively market travel to DeKalb County.
“When working for a hotel as high profile as the Holiday Inn Express brand, it’s important to stay on the cutting edge of service and marketing strategies,” she said. “Any edge we can gain against other markets helps not only our hotel and local tourism, but other businesses that benefit from the extra revenue brought in from our guests.”
Tourism ranks as the first, second or third-largest industry in the 12 STS states that stretch from Virginia to Louisiana.
“Tourism is something I am so passionate about. I want to grow our local economy through tourism, and Marketing College gave me the resources and contacts to work towards that,” said Davis. “I gained knowledge about research, product development, marketing, branding, websites, social media, brochures, generational marketing, packaging experiences, working with the media and travel writers, hotels and attractions, International travelers and local government. I attended STS Marketing College for one week, three years in a row, so this is only a small fraction of what I learned.”
After the classroom work, students also must complete a project that relates to their employment.
“Our curriculum is practical. What students learn can be put to use as soon as they get back to their workplaces,” Hardman said.
With the skills she gained from marketing college, Davis said she has put together four tours and six brochures of the Northeast Alabama area and marketed them to International tour operators at a travel show called Travel South International.
And, in June 2014, she, Nanda Patel, Israel Partridge and Kayla Worthey took a group of six tour operators from the UK and Ireland on a familiarization tour of the Lookout Mountain area.
“Honestly, This program is one of the most comprehensive and respected programs in the field,” said Davis. “I feel blessed to have had our friends at Alabama Mountain Lakes Association so generously sponsor me in my endeavors to further my education. My employer, Nanda Patel, provided me with vital support as well. None of this would have been possible without them.”
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