Governors Conference on Tourism Coming to Rogers
by February 17, 2014 12:00 am 72 views
More than 600 people will descend on Northwest Arkansas next month to attend the 39th annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism.
The event is scheduled March 9-11 at the Embassy Suites and John Q. Hammons Convention Center in Rogers.
Industry professionals will hear motivational talks from national speakers and exchange ideas on improving the business of tourism.
Those attending will be a mixture of several industry professionals from around the state: resort owners, government officials, vendors, media representatives, hotel and restaurant owners and chamber of commerce leaders.
“It’s the tourism industry at large,” said Richard Davies, longtime executive director of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. “The goal is to keep the industry up-to-date on what is going on.”
Several key issues will be addressed at the conference, including the huge growth of social media.
“More than 50 percent of the traffic to our website [Arkansas.com] is now mobile; there is a giant move to mobile technology,” Davie explained. “Social media platforms are where people are getting their information, is what we’re finding. We’re not going to abandon the traditional media like television, radio, newspaper, but we can’t ignore trends of what’s happening.”
Davies said the conference will also be an opportunity for attendees to network and hear a variety of speakers, including Gov. Mike Beebe.
Other speakers include actor, director and travel writer Andrew McCarthy, wayfinding expert Jan Carpman and nationally recognized social media expert Crystal Washington.
Northwest Arkansas Council president Mike Malone is also scheduled to lead a session on regional signage.
Davies also noted the anticipation for the conference’s opening reception, being held at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville.