Visit Clarksdale Presented Research-in-Action Award

Visit Clarksdale Research-in-Action Award Mississippi Governor's Conference on Tourism — Visit Clarksdale Research-in-Action Award Mississippi Governor’s Conference on Tourism

Coahoma County Tourism’s Visit Clarksdale was presented with the Research-in-Action Award at the annual Mississippi Governor’s Conference on Tourism

Nine Special Research Awards were presented at the 2019 Governor’s Conference on Tourism held this Fall in Columbus, Mississippi. These special awards are presented in recognition and appreciation of research efforts. Recipients are usually a Tourism Office-Association-Council but may include other agencies and firms.

Read about the Visit Clarksdale Research-in-Action Award below under Number 3.

The Capital/River Region 2019 Mississippi Research-in-Action Award goes to….VISIT NATCHEZ. Natchez was selected as one of the Best Historic Small Towns in the U.S. at #6 in 2019, per Readers’ Choice Travel Awards. They were helpful in updating a 2019 Airbnb inventory, part of the growing sharing economy. Natchez recognizes tourism is the straw that stirs their drink(s).
The Coastal Region 2019 Mississippi Research-in-Action Award goes to….COASTAL MISSISSIPPI. Their research-legwork culminated on Monday, March 11, 2019, to unveil their new name. Per Milton Segarra: “Coastal Mississippi speaks to who we are and what we offer as a region.” He noted 55 percent of frequent travelers say they primarily travel to discover new experiences, cultures, lifestyles, food and places. Go to CoastalMississippi.com.
The Delta Region 2019 Mississippi Research-in-Action Award goes to….VISIT CLARKSDALE. Clarksdale was the fourth-best Historic Small Town in the U.S. in 2019, per Readers’ Choice Travel Awards. Deltabohemian.com lists the Top 10 things to do in Clarksdale, e.g., #8 Take a Delta Bohemian Tour with Chilly Billy. Feedback is helpful from those who experienced Clarksdale—as noted earlier, frequent travelers want new experiences.
The Hills Region 2019 Mississippi Research-in-Action Awards go to… TUPELO CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU. They have emphasized sports marketing, evidenced by Brian Rucker winning a 2019 Southeast Tourism Society Rising Star Award. Per Neal McCoy, “youth sports is a major driver for tourism in Tupelo.” In FY2020, city will invest $2 million to turf nine softball and baseball fields; $2 million for tennis courts-soccer fields. Elvis does laps in the Aquatic Center and he is still the King 42 years after he left the building.
The Pines Region 2019 Mississippi Research-in-Action Award goes to….VISIT MERIDIAN. Dede Mogollon is a big proponent of Tourism Capital Investment—brick and mortar projects. A 130-room Meridian hotel will fly the Marriott Courtyard flag, per the Mississippi Business Journal. The developer is Ascent Hospitality Management. This involves conversion the Threefoot Building completed in 1929. Nice to convert a 16-story building. Jimmie Rodgers was featured in Part I of Ken Burns’ Country Music Documentary—September 15, 2019.
At-Large 2019 Mississippi Research-in-Action Award goes to…VISIT COLUMBUS. Nancy Carpenter worked quite diligently earlier this year to have her city’s 2 percent restaurant tax revived. WCBI in Columbus quoted Nancy on February 6, 2019, “It’s exciting to know that our 2 percent restaurant tax is going to be reinstated, and all of the wonderful things that have happened for the citizens and visitors to Columbus will be back in play.” Kudos to Nancy.
At-Large 2019 Mississippi Research-in-Action Award goes to…VISIT HATTIESBURG. They recently commissioned research via Young Strategies. This included an on-line survey. Articles on Hattiesburg have been published in Louisiana Life and DeSoto Magazine. The latter one did “Festive Cocktails for Valentine’s Day,” including “The Sip”—four ounces of blueberry lemonade. Hattiesburg certainly values blogs and research.
At-Large 2019 Mississippi Research-in-Action Award goes to…. VISIT RIDGELAND. They put a lot of emphasis on Sports Tourism –Bicycling-Motorcycling, tennis, etc. Their Art, Wine & Wheels Weekend (Cheers and Gears Bike Ride-Saturday; April 3-5, 2020), Natchez Trace Century Ride (May 2, 2020) and Heatwave Classic Triathlon (June 6, 2020) were examples of events catering to in-state and out-of-state visitors, plus households within a 50-mile radius. Chris Chapman suggested a breakdown of Mississippi cities-counties who receive a special room-restaurant tax, from highest to lowest percentage—something with valuable and practical implications.
At-Large 2019 Mississippi Research-in-Action Award goes to…VISIT VICKSBURG. Laura Beth Strickland noted major investments in youth sports tourism, with synthetic turf fields, on-site recreation at the Sports Force Parks on the Mississippi, which opened in February 2019. Laura Beth cited 1,845 tournament teams, 175,000 visitors, 25,000 room nights and projected visitor spending of $24 million. Marketing is done by the Parks. Laura Beth has worked on research projects ranging from craft beer in Mississippi to spending by National Military Park visitors. https://sportsforceparks.com/news/youth-sports-tourism-a-home-run

Thanks was also given to Rochelle Hicks, Executive Director of the Mississippi Tourism Association (MTA), as well as Kristin Lape, who so ably assists Rochelle.