Southern governors push regional approach to tourism

GREENSBORO, Ga. (AP) — Southern governors who compete fiercely for traditional industry are banding together to launch a regional push for the tourist dollar — one aimed in part at aging baby boomers who have money to spend and time to spend it.

An interactive web page site due to launch in April will help tourists find Southern travel destinations, events and lodging irrespective of state boundaries, focusing on the rapidly growing field of heritage tourism.

Initially, the site will stress the South’s musical heritage. It will be broadened later to include heritage travel for those interested in topics such as the Civil War, Civil Rights and Southern architecture.

“The South is a great driving destination for tourism — heritage, cultural and many other types of tourism,” Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue said during the annual meeting of the Southern Governors Association, which opened here Sunday.

Perdue, who has chaired the group this year, has made expanding tourism the key goal of his term.

“This site will demonstrate, in an interactive way, many of these opportunities. If they want to drive from West Virginia down through Kentucky, through Tennessee, into Georgia and on into Florida, just what can they do along the way and how they can plan a rolling vacation in tourism,” he said.

The site is being funded in part with grants from the tourism departments of the states, but is expected to be self-supporting through corporate sponsorships.

Sixteen states and Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are members of the regional governors’ group.

Two governors — incoming President Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana and Haley Barbour of Mississippi — skipped the session as Hurricane Katrina bore down on the Gulf Coast.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to their states,” Perdue said in opening the session.

During their initial session on tourism, John Nau, chairman of the White House Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation, urged the governors to push hard for heritage tourists.

He said they spend more per day, stay longer and pay more taxes than others. He also urged the states to target retirees, who tend to have more expendable income and more time.

Tourism currently is worth $177.6 billion to the Southern Governors Association member states, accounting for 38 percent of total U.S. travel.

The meeting continues through Tuesday, with energy and education policy the other key topics.