Friday, September 30, 2011

New Groups Host Inaugural Rural Tourism Summit



For more media information:                                                                              For Immediate Release
Sharon Liggett
850-728-0258
shaliggett@comcast.net                                    

New group holds Inaugural Rural Tourism Summit

(Marianna, Florida) – A new tourism cheerleader for the central Panhandle is up and running. Homer Hirt, president of RiverWay South Apalachicola Choctawhatchee (RWSAC) has announced the organization will host its inaugural Rural Tourism Development Summit, on October 28, 2011 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (central) at the Pioneer Panhandle Settlement in Blountstown, Fla.  “We’re less than a year old, but we’re fired up about the potential opportunities for rural tourism development in our region, Hirt said. Our goal for the Summit is to network potential rural tourism businesses and resources to grow local tourism with increased destination marketing in our eight county region.”

The Summit will feature sessions on public relations, promotions, cultural heritage programming, agri-tourism, paddling, Green Guide Certification, wayfinding/wayshowing and tourism professional development.  Tourist Development Councils, civic groups, historical societies, outdoor clubs, arts organizations, colleges & universities, elected officials, chambers of commerce, development commissions, elected officials, media and others who value the mission of RWSAC are encouraged to attend.

VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s official source for travel planning, awarded RiverWay South Apalachicola Choctawhatchee a Cultural, Heritage and Nature Tourism Education Grant for the 2011-2012 Fiscal Year to conduct this summit.  “We are pleased that VISIT FLORIDA and its Board of Directors selected us from a large number of grant applicants, during their most competitive grant cycle to date,” said Sharon Liggett, project manager for RWSAC.

“The purpose of these grants is to help non-profit entities and local governments stretch their tourism marketing dollars in an effort to expand cultural, heritage, rural and nature tourism activities in Florida,” said Christopher Thompson, President & CEO for VISIT FLORIDA.

RiverWay South Apalachicola Choctawhatchee is a public/private partnership that encourages sustainable economic development through the preservation and promotion of the natural, cultural and historical resources of the Apalachicola and Choctawhatchee River basins including Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Liberty and Washington counties.



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