The Group Travel Leader January 2020

BUCKEYE METROS

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GETTING IT WRIGHT

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P U R E P E N N S Y LVA N I A

GROUP THE

TRAVEL LEADER

Springtime blooms MAKE PLACES

BOOM

go SOUTH

2020

T R AV E L S O U T H TOUR PLANNER

JANUARY 2020

UP TO

1 TOUR CONDUCTOR CREDIT FOR EVERY 10 PAYING GUESTS (MAXIMUM OF 2)

Buenos Aires 1

Argentina

Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)

Elephant Island

Argentina

12

South Georgia

Castro

18

Buenos Aires

Isla Tortugas Curú National Park

Puerto Caldera

Quepos

Darién National Park Utria National Park

Chile

Ushuaia Drake Passage

Costa Rica

Valparaíso

Colombia

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Puerto Montt

Isla de la Plata

Inner Fjords

Ecuador

South Shetland Islands Salaverry

Punta Arenas Chilean Fjords

Antarctic Peninsula

Peru

Isla Guanape

Lima

Ushuaia Cape Horn

Antarctica, South Georgia & Falkland Islands (201S) AntarcticNovember Circle Departing 20, 2020 Buenos Aires > Buenos Aires 20 Days from $23,495 per person

Chilean Fjords & Cape Horn (601S) Departing October 29, 2020 Santiago > Buenos Aires 13 Days from $10,595 per person

Coastal Adventure: Costa Rica to Peru (401C)

Departing October 10, 2020 San Jose > Lima 12 Days from $8,295 per person

Contact our Groups Department at 844.572.3642 or visit sceniceclipse.com Terms and conditions: Offer available for new Group bookings only, on select itineraries. We offer Up to 1 Tour Conductor Credit for every 10 paying guests. Value of Tour Conductor Credit is based on Category D. Limit 2 Tour Conductor Credits per group. This offer is not combinable with any other offer. Taxes & port charges are included in the price. Offer available to residents of the 50 United States only. Offer may be extended, canceled, or withdrawn at any time without notice. Visit sceniceclipse.com for complete terms and conditions. 19_EC1210

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AT 2020 PRICING

Be among the first to reserve your 2021 group on our popular 8 Day Sailings: Gems of the Danube, Rhine Highlights, and Bordeaux Affair. In addition to offering 2020 prices for a 2021 itinerary, if you reserve by February 15, 2020, we will offer the following: 1 Free Trip for every 9 paying guests FREE Economy Airfare or a savings of $1,200 per person

Contact your Professional Travel Advisor, call our groups department at 844.425.6076 or visit scenicusa.com Terms and Conditions: Offer valid for new 2021 Group bookings only. Offers are based on number of cruise days, and exclude the land portion of the trip. All offers are subject to availability and may sell out. Scenic reserves the right to correct errors or omissions and to change any and all fares and promotions at any time. Availability is correct at the time of publishing but cannot be guaranteed. A nonrefundable initial deposit of $500 per person is required at the time of booking, with full payment required 90 days prior to departure. If air offer is selected, flights must be booked through Scenic, on our choice of airlines and are nonrefundable once ticketed. A secondary deposit will be required at the time of air ticketing. Offer expires upon the release of our 2021 Preview brochure or February 15, 2020 whichever comes first. This offer is not combinable with any other offer. Taxes & port charges are included in the price. Offer available to residents of the 50 United States only. Offer may be extended, canceled, or withdrawn at any time without notice.

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CONTENTS

GROUP TH E

TRAVEL LEADER

CHARTING THE EVOLUTION OF GROUP TR AVEL

COLU M NS

N EWS

6 Editor’s Marks 14 PROFILE:

8 Family Matters 12 Conference Scene

Scott Brodsky

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Classic Eastern Pennsylvania

O N T H E COV E R

A bluebonnet blooms in Texas Hill Country.

Photo by Jeremy Woodhouse.

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America in Bloom

VOL 30 | ISSUE 1

ISSUE

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T R AVEL SOUT H TOUR PLANNER

AN O HIO TRIF EC TA

Food, music and adventure are calling you to go South.

Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati are brimming with exciting group opportunities.

K E LLY T Y N E R 888.253.0455 MAC T. LACY CHARLES A. PRESLEY BRIAN JEWELL HERBERT SPARROW DONIA SIMMONS KELLY TYNER

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Frank Lloyd Wright Sites

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Founder and Publisher Partner VP & Executive Editor Senior Writer Creative Director VP, Sales & Marketing

KYLE ANDERSON ASHLEY RICKS ELIZA MYERS CHRISTINE CLOUGH

kelly@grouptravelleader.com

Director of Advertising Sales Graphic Design & Circulation Associate Editor Copy Editor

The GROUP TRAVEL LEADER is published ten times a year by THE GROUP TRAVEL LEADER, Inc., 301 East High St., Lexington, Kentucky 40507, and is distributed free of charge to qualified group leaders who plan travel for groups of all ages and sizes. THE GROUP TRAVEL LEADER serves as the official magazine of GROUP TRAVEL FAMILY, the organization for traveling groups. All other travel suppliers, including tour operators, destinations, attractions, transportation companies, hotels, restaurants and other travel-related companies may subscribe to THE GROUP TRAVEL LEADER by sending a check for $59 for one year to: THE GROUP TRAVEL LEADER, Circulation Department, 301 East High St., Lexington, KY 40507. Phone (859) 2530455 or (859) 253-0503. Copyright THE GROUP TRAVEL LEADER, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of editorial or graphic content in any manner without the written consent of the publisher is prohibited.

EDITOR’S MARKS

“M

BY BRIAN JEWELL

y people would never do that.”

I’ve lost count of the times I’ve heard that phrase over the past 15 years. Whether it’s trying an adventurous activity, staying at an upscale hotel or splurging on a gourmet meal, there are some travel experiences that many tour planners reject out of hand.

Understanding your audience is important. But I’ll go out on a limb with this statement: If you continually fall back on “my people would never do that” when planning your trips, it might say more about you than it does about them.

Savvy business owners know their customers, and smart group travel planners target trips to the tastes of their potential travelers. But people who succeed over the long term understand that tastes change and demographics shift. What was popular yesterday won’t necessarily be popular tomorrow.

And if you don’t give your customers new and exciting things to look forward to, eventually they won’t be your customers anymore.

When I began my tourism career in the early 2000s, the industry was still entrenched in the “senior citizen” mindset. The patterns and practices established by the World War II generation dominated conventional wisdom. When I visited destinations with group sales people, they spent a lot of time talking about accessibility ramps and the number of steps between one place and another.

A funny thing happened on the way to 2020, though: The generation that created most of those expectations stopped traveling. And the generation that took their place brought a different set of travel preferences.

A lot has been written about the impact of baby

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boomers on the tourism industry. Many people worried initially that boomers wouldn’t travel in groups. Now, thankfully, we have enough evidence to know that’s not true. Groups sizes are smaller, but many boomers still find value and benefit in traveling together.

Lately, though, I’ve noticed a schism opening up in the travel industry.

Much of the growth destination development is coming in the form of adventurous activities, upscale hotels and memorable culinary experiences. But when destination marketers try to showcase these developments to the group travel industry, all too often the answer from travel planners amounts to some version of “my people would never do that.”

My response: Are you sure?

I ask this because I have met and traveled with a lot of group tour customers that defy that reasoning. I’ve gone snowmobiling with a group in Montana’s Yellowstone backcountry. I’ve relaxed with group travelers at many exceptional hotels. And I’ve watched, at a group dinner, as customers ordered $100 bottles of wine without batting an eye.

The rules that governed this industry 15 years ago haven’t aged well.

Today’s consumers don’t need you to plan simple travel logistics for them — they can do that on their own. But they crave amazing travel experiences, and if you can deliver them, they’ll become loyal customers.

If you limit your scope based on outdated perceptions of what group travelers will and won’t do, you could be holding them back from the experiences they’ll enjoy the most. In the long run, that doesn’t serve them well, and it doesn’t serve you well either.

“My people would never do that.” Maybe it’s time for a change in perspective.

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broaden your agenda Your group has many different interests. Delight them all with the unforgettable experiences at Panama City Beach – everything from dolphin tours and eclectic shopping to championship golf and local seaside delicacies. Our group travel team will help you plan the perfect event. Make your next gathering one they’ll remember. Make it yours at Panama City Beach.

Plan now VisitPanamaCityBeach.com/groups

FAMILY M AT T E R S

R EGI ST ER N OW TO AT TEN D S E L E C T T R AV E L E R C O N F E R E N C E

SALEM, Ohio — For people around the world, Cheyenne, Wyoming, conjures images of cowboys, rodeos and trains.

Today’s Cheyenne is all of that and more. From the world’s largest outdoor rodeo and Western celebration to world-class museums and restaurants, a visit to Cheyenne offers great opportunities.

Now Visit Cheyenne is inviting group travel planners and readers of this publication to enjoy its best experiences as attendees of the Select Traveler Conference.

The Select Traveler Conference is the premier gathering of upscale group travel planners to get new travel destination ideas, network with 400 delegates and, this year, experience Cheyenne

and the cowboy lifestyle.

If you are a travel planner for a high-end group and would like to visit Cheyenne, please call Kacie Honeywell at 800-6280993. There are less than 50 reservations now available, so contact Honeywell today if interested. Visit Cheyenne has arranged round-trip airport transfers for all delegates, and Honeywell has a scholarship program available to qualified planners. Spouses are welcome to attend.

Lodging, meals, sightseeing, entertainment, marketplace and airport transfers are included in registration. Contact Kacie Honeywell at 800-628-0993 or honeywell@grouptravelfamily.com.

Authentic cowboy music characterizes Cheyenne.

The Group Travel Family staff took a well-earned break in November aboard an MSC cruise ship.

COURTESY VISIT CHEYENNE

SELECT TR AVELER CONFERENCE — ­ REGISTR ATION COUPON Cheyenne, Wyoming March 22-24, 2020 Name Travel Club Address City State Zip Phone Email MAIL TO : Select Traveler Conference — Box 129 — Salem — OH — 44460

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WESTERN EVENING HIGHLIGHTS SELECT TRAVELER CONFERENCE SALEM, Ohio — A once-in-a-lifetime event has been designed for the opening night of the Select Traveler Conference in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and you are invited to join the fun. Visit Cheyenne wants you to enjoy a Western experience and has arranged a night of live music, a chuck-wagon dinner, entertainment and Western wear.

“Group planners are going to love this night,” said Joe Cappuzzello of the Select Traveler Conference. “Visit Cheyenne knows how to throw a party, and this will be one to remember.” In addition to music and food, there will be interactive events where you can try your hand at roping and other Western skills.

The Select Traveler Conference is already notifying delegates that conference dress will encourage Western wear for the entire stay at Cheyenne. You are encouraged and welcome to sport denim, boots and hats for the conference, and staff will even assist you in local shopping to fit right in. So register today with Kacie Honeywell at 800-628-0993.

CONFERENCE OFFERS

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES SALEM, Ohio — Group leaders that are interested in increasing destination knowledge as well as networking with hundreds of fellow travel planners are invited to attend the Select Traveler Conference.

The Select Traveler Conference is opening registration to qualified travel planners who would like to grow their followings and enjoy more successful trips. “Our delegates provide a great service to their travel following,” said conference partner Charlie Presley. “And by attending Select Traveler Conference, they ensure bigger groups and better trips.”

The Select Traveler Conference will be held in Cheyenne, Wyoming, March 22-24, with lodging provided at the Little America Hotel.

Please contact Kacie Honeywell at 800-6280993 for registration details.

S E L E C T T R AV E L E R C O N F.C O M

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The Meeting for Bank, Alumni, & Chamber Travel Directors

Cheyenne, Wyoming March 22-24, 2020

selecttravelerconf.com

Call to Register Today:

800.628.0993

G R O U P T R AV E L L E A D E R . C O M

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Group Travel

WHERE TO GO

essentials

BY BRIAN JEWELL

The first step to planning a great group trip is choosing where to go.

The destinations you select can make or break the success of your travel program. If you pick places that are too familiar or boring, your potential customers might not have much interest in going there with you. If your destinations are too exotic, too far away or too expensive, you risk scaring travelers off.

Success requires finding destinations that will inspire your travelers without intimidating them.

If you’re just getting started in tourism or if you’re interested in expanding your group’s travel horizons, here are some essential strategies and business practices to help you select winning destinations.

1

Best Practice: CHECK THE CALENDAR As you consider where to go, you should also consider when to go there. Because the right destination at the wrong time is still the wrong destination. In places with distinctive tourist seasons, groups are advised to plan around weather, traffic patterns and other factors. You should work with representatives of state travel offices or local convention and visitors bureaus to identify the best time of year for your trip.

They might even be able to help you save on hotel rates by recommending particular days of the week.

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KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS There will always be a certain amount of trial-and-error in selecting destinations to promote, but you can mitigate a lot of the risk by knowing your customers well and looking for trips that cater to their tastes. Before you begin selecting destinations for your tours, spend some time getting to know your potential customers and finding out where they want to go. Talk to influencers in your community to ask where they would be interested in traveling, how long they think the trip should last and what would be a reasonable price. If you have access to a larger group of potential customers, consider doing a survey to get a wide range of perspectives.

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Business Basic:

Innovative Idea: TEST NEW CONCEPTS If you offer trips only to triedand-true places, your customers will eventually get bored. So it’s important to keep them interested by testing new travel concepts.

The best way is to try one or two a year as part of your overall programming. If you’ve had success with day trips, for example, try offering one overnight trip to a nearby city. You can also experiment with trips for a specific segment of your audience: A girls-only shopping trip to New York or a food-focused weekend in New Orleans may attract fewer people, but they will enjoy themselves more.

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Pro Tip: MAKE IT A MYSTERY As you research travel destinations, you might encounter some that pique your interest but don’t have much name recognition to appeal to everyday travelers. You can package these into mystery tours to surprise and delight your customers. Experienced travel planners often offer at least one mystery tour each year.

When you’re building a mystery tour, pick a place that most people wouldn’t think to visit, and plan a series of experiences there that will be both unexpected and memorable.

Then, offer your customers a chance to join the trip without telling them where you’re headed.

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Ikpomambo micha pomamba' ki'yo The Chickasaw people have always had a strong culture and joyful spirit, and today both are shared with the world at the Chickasaw Cultural Center.

We invite you to experience the beauty, warmth and vibrancy of our unique culture through immersive exhibits, delicious cuisine, a traditional 1700s era village and so much more.

C h i c k a s a w C u l t u r a l C e n t e r . c o m | 5 8 0 - 6 2 2-713 0

Growth Opportunity: ATTEND INDUSTRY EVENTS Eventually, even the most creative travel planners run out of ideas.

When that happens, they look for new destination inspiration at conferences and other tourism events.

There are plenty of good tourism-focused gatherings around the country, from local travel agent shows to large-scale conventions. If you attend one, you’ll get opportunities to meet with dozens of destination representatives who can tell you all about what their cities and states have to offer. These meetings can also open up opportunities for familiarization tours, which give you a firsthand look at destinations you’ve never visited.

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CULTURAL CENTER S U L P H U R, O K L A H O M A

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CONFERENCE

SCENE

PRATHER ASSUMES NTA PRESIDENCY IN 2020

BY BRIAN JEWELL

FORT WORTH, Texas — NTA bid farewell to outgoing president Pam Inman during its annual Travel Exchange event December 8-12.

Inman, who served four and a half years as president, will be succeeded by Catherine Prather, executive vice president and a 25-year veteran of the association. Inman’s retirement was effective December 31, and Prather took the reins the first of this year.

Much of Inman’s tenure was focused on experimentation and efforts to bring new members to the association, as well as new concepts to Travel Exchange, its signature annual conference.

Two of the new concepts rolled out at the 2019 event. One was a session called Sales Missions that featured groups of destination representatives from 42 states and provinces teaming up to present highlights of their areas to tour operators. The other new session, Best Pitch, featured three-minute destination and product pitches from industry attendees.

Inman also announced what could be the most significant innovation of her time — a partnership with the International Tour

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COURTESY NTA

NTA tour operators meet with destination representatives and other travel professionals during Travel Exchange in Fort Worth.

Management Institute that will integrate ITMI’s annual symposium into NTA’s Travel Exchange beginning this year.

“ITMI trains tour guides and directors, and we’re going to bring their symposium to Reno/Tahoe next year,” Inman said. “They usually have about 350 people. They do educational sessions and one-on-one job interviews, and they’re very much like NTA in terms of being a family.”

The agreement will integrate ITMI’s symposium into the next three editions of Travel Exchange. Prather said NTA worked carefully to ensure that the two organizations would be compatible.

“We really feel like it’s a culture fit,” she said. “We’re bringing tour operators and [destination management organizations] qualified potential employees. Our missions are really in sync. We’re allowing them to focus on their mission because our tour operators need them to be well trained.”

Another final achievement for Inman was working with other tourism partners to successfully lobby the National Park Service

(NPS). The administration had announced procedure changes that would be both onerous and expensive for tour operators visiting national parks. The new rules were set to go into effect early this year, but NPS announced last fall that it would reevaluate the policy change.

“The first time I met with NPS about the issue was in October of 2015,” Inman said.

“We’ve had so many meetings with them and formed a coalition so we could all communicate with them at the same time. And we got our members to reach out to their congresspeople. What our tour operators can explain to them about how they are being affected means a lot more than anything I could ever say.”

Prather, who also served as interim president in 2014 before Inman came on board, worked closely with Inman over the past year to ensure a smooth handoff.

“I’m optimistic because NTA is in such a good place, and it’s an honor to be able to work in what I consider the best association in this industry,” she said.

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R E S E A R C H D R I V E S T R AV E L S O U T H U S A’ S I N T E R N AT I O N A L E F F O R T S

BY MAC LACY

T R AV E L S O U T H U S A .C O M

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Southern destinations meet with buyers from across the world.

Anheuser-Busch Brewery and carolers light up the night for delegates.

PHOTOS COURTESY TRAVEL SOUTH USA

ST. LOUIS — International travel into the United States peaked in 2018 and slightly declined in 2019, according to Erin FrancisCumming, president and CEO of Destination Analysts, a global research firm that provides visitation data to destinations around the world. Francis-Cumming shared her firm’s research, based on a sample of more than 11,000 active worldwide travelers, at a session held December 2, 2019, at the Travel South International Showcase in St. Louis, Missouri.

“Visitation decreases to the U.S. from China and Germany are the most pronounced this year,” she said, “while visitation from Canada and Mexico is actually up. The reasons most cited for these decreases are the overall economics and expense of coming to the United States, plus the political climate that exists currently between these countries.”

Despite the decreases for 2019, the United States remains at the top of worldwide travel bucket lists by a large margin. When asked what country international visitors most want to visit, the United States enjoys almost a two-to-one margin in popularity over its nearest competitors: Spain and France.

Speaking to an audience that included officials from 12 Southern states, Francis-Cumming drilled down into visitation to the destinations represented by Travel South USA. “Travelers are hot for the South,” she said, “but it is the more experienced travelers who are coming here. International travelers still tend to start on both coasts in places like New York, California or Florida, but 23.7% of our sample indicate they plan to visit the South. These are the more experienced travelers in the survey who are coming multiple times to the U.S. and are getting beyond the coasts.”

“We believe we’ll be flat for the year,” said Travel South USA president and CEO Liz Bittner after the session. “We don’t get the huge fluctuations in international visitation because travelers to the South are not as affected by the economy or political issues.

As Erin’s data shows, our visitors are more seasoned. They are not influenced by the rhetoric they may be hearing in their countries about political differences.

“Our international visitors are spending an average of 17 days in the South and are visiting 4.4 states during their stays,” said Bittner. “Collectively, this is the market we want to address. Our states want to go after new money — international money. We have direct flights coming into cities like Atlanta, New Orleans, Charlotte [North Carolina], Nashville [Tennessee] and Charleston [South Carolina]. Once these travelers are here, they want to get out and see the real South, the authentic South.”

A post tour attendee signs in at Evan Williams Bourbon Experience.

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PROFILE

Scott Brodsky COUNTRY HERITAGE TOURS

W

BY BRIAN JEWELL

hen Scott Brodsky’s mother started a quilt tour company 33 years ago, he had no idea that he would run it one day.

“My mother started the business in the early ’80s,” Brodsky said. “She was a housewife in New Hampshire pursuing a crafting career. She got a call one day from a tour company that lost its tour manager during New England fall foliage. It was a craft tour, and they ask if she could cover it.

She had no experience but took the tour out and decided she could do it as a hobby.”

That hobby grew into a full-blown venture.

Brodsky’s mother secured a small-business loan and started Country Heritage Tours in the basement of the family home. Eventually, her husband left his career to join her in the company.

Brodsky was 9 years old when the company started and grew up around the business. But he left home to pursue a different path, first going to college to study art, then moving to Savannah, Georgia, before settling into a career in New York theater. But a few years ago, he felt the tour company calling him home.

“I was a set designer for Broadway and the

SALES

TIPS

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Metropolitan Opera in New York,” he said. “But after 11 years, I got tired of the rat race, so I moved to New Hampshire and worked in the business, side by side with my parents for a couple of years.”

During that time, Brodsky helped his parents build a website and increase marketing efforts. Eventually, he took over as president of the company and oversaw significant growth.

“We built our list of clients from 4,000 to 40,000,” he said. “We’re getting the word out there and doing multiple international tours. We have a repeat clientele of around 70%, and we’re seeing our audience age drop from 55-plus to 48-plus.”

Though Brodsky’s parents have both passed away, he still draws on lessons he learned from them, some even at an early age.

“When I was 14, my mother brought me on a site inspection trip to Paducah,” he said. “At one hotel, our room was gorgeous; but the next morning, she said, ‘I’d like to see a regular room, please.’ That’s when I learned that there’s a difference between what vendors want to show you and the reality of what your guests may experience.”

Because Country Heritage Tours caters to a very specific audience — female quilt-lovers traveling without husbands or children — Brodsky makes special efforts to experience every element of a trip firsthand to ensure it will serve them well.

“On all our tours since 2011, I have slept in the beds, I have eaten in the restaurant, I have walked in the museums,” he said. “You can sit behind a desk and develop product. But do you understand where the bus is going to pull up and how many stalls are in the women’s room?

Is the gift shop good enough? I get those details from site inspections and FAM tours.”

Brodsky likens this pretrip research to the work he used to do on Broadway.

“Theater’s all about putting on a production, and running tours is no different,” he said. “The preproduction is looking at hotels and attractions, and what bits and pieces we’re going to cast in a show.

Rehearsals are our site inspections and contracts. Then the production is running the tour.”

“If you want to grow your audience, you have to get in front of them. You don’t need to market to people who know you — you need to get in front of the ones who don’t. Use all the tools in your toolbox. Use social media. And remember, direct mail is not dead. All the major players put out paper catalogs.” —SCOTT

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Columbus group tours are designed to be as fun as they are intriguing.

Choose from a variety of guided tours and hands-on experiences, including

a visit to the newly opened National Veterans Memorial and Museum. For your group’s next memorable getaway, visit experiencecolumbus.com/tours.

gray to green

FROM

Texas Bluebonnets blanket the fields around Burnet in the spring.

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SPRING

ISSUE

SHAKE WINTER IN ONE OF T H E S E S P R I N G T I M E FAVO R I T E S

BY PENNY MUSCO

“F

or lo, the winter is past,” King Solomon proclaimed as he beckoned his bride outside on what must have been a beautiful spring day. “Flowers appear on the earth [and] the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.”

Few things are more delightful than drinking in the sights and smells of bright buds after a dreary winter. Even better is the vision and aroma of masses of them. Fortunately, there are destinations across the country that showcase assortments of springtime blooms in places that also offer a host of other activities in which groups can revel during the season.

Azaleas

COURTESY BURNET COC

WI LM I N GTO N , N O RTH C A RO LI N A

Azaleas, the classic Southern shrubs are “all over town,” said Connie Nelson of the Wilmington and Beaches Convention and Visitors Bureau in North Carolina, and particularly at Greenfield Lake Park and Airlie Gardens. The Azalea Festival, April 1-5, not only pays homage to them but also celebrates the area’s overall natural beauty.

In this “River to Sea” community, “everything is easy to get to,” Nelson said, including three island beaches and the Historic District’s shops and restaurants. She recommends trolley, horse-drawn carriage or walking excursions on land, and Cape Fear Riverboats’ Henrietta by water. Other must-sees are historic homes from the antebellum, Colonial and Victorian eras, and the World War II battleship North Carolina.

Another plant to check out is the native Venus flytrap, found at Carolina Beach State Park and the Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden.

W I L M I N G TO N A N D B E AC H E S .C O M

Bluebonnets B U R N E T, TE X A S

Texas’ state flower puts on a stunning spring display in Burnet, earning the town the official title of Bluebonnet Capital of Texas. While many have been planted along the Lone Star State’s highways, they’re local only to this Highland Lakes region between Austin and San Antonio.

The seas of blue are at their prime during April — Burnet’s Bluebonnet Festival is April 10-12. Groups can customize lodging packages at the Canyon of the Eagles on Lake Buchanan, a place to “disconnect to reconnect with nature,” said Gary Griggs, vice president of sales and marketing. The resort presents a range of activities to do just that: kayak rentals, canyon cruises and stargazing at the Eagle Eye Observatory.

A local wine trail incorporates several wineries offering tastings and tours.

L A K E S A N D H I L L S .C O M

Cherry Blossoms N E WA R K , N E W J E RS E Y

Newark, New Jersey’s Branch Brook Park features a diverse collection of nearly 5,000 flowering cherry trees, and their delicate white and pink petals begin to appear in early April. Bus tours through the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed park occur on weekdays during its Cherry Blossom Festival, April 4-19, and guides are available to board private tour buses, said Kathy Kauhl of the Essex County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs.

Overlooking Branch Brook Lake is the Gothicstyle Cathedral Basilica, which hosts complimentary concerts and tours on Wednesdays at noon. Other cultural venues include the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and the Prudential Center, with its new interactive Grammy Museum Experience.

G R O U P T R AV E L L E A D E R . C O M

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BY JUSTIN KATIGBAK, COURTESY TRAVEL PORTLAND

California poppies

Portland’s International Rose Test Garden

Have You Met Newark Tours escort visitors to the city’s historic and modern-day hot spots, as well as on a foodie exploration of the Ironbound, known for its Portuguese, Spanish and Brazilian cuisine.

N E WA R K H A P P E N I N G .C O M

Daffodils

N A NTU C K E T, M A S SAC H U S E T T S

Perhaps no flower represents springtime awakening like a daffodil’s cheerful face. Nantucket emerges from its winter nap with a riot of “about 3 [million] to 4 million” of them, said William DeSousa-Mauk of the Chamber of Commerce. They’re set along the island’s miles of pathways and roads, bursting forth around the last week in April.

During the Daffodil Festival, April 24-26, Nantucket also sports many “human daffodils,” DeSousa-Mauk said, as residents and vacationers alike deck themselves in floral splendor. Themed tours — maritime, historic and birdwatching, among them — by car, bike, boat or on foot show them off in all their glory.

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The Cultural District is the setting for theater, galleries, museums and restaurants. Cisco Brewers boasts a winery, a brewery and a distillery and is open for tours and tastings daily April through November, and Thursday through Sunday November through April.

N A N T U C K E T- M A .G OV

Lilacs

M AC K I N AC I S L A N D, M I C H I GA N

While lilacs aren’t original to Mackinac Island — they were likely brought from New England — these fragrant flowers thrive here because of favorable growing conditions. Horticulturist Jeff Young said, “There’s nowhere you can go on the island where you’re not going to see them,” especially during the Lilac Festival, June 5-14.

Mackinac’s old-fashioned, laid-back atmosphere is because of the lack of cars — visitors arrive via ferries from either the Lower or Upper peninsulas.

Transportation around the compact island is by foot, bike, scooter, taxi or, more delightfully, horse-drawn carriage. Cruises through the Straits of Mackinac operate May through October, gliding past handsome Victorian and turn-of-the-20th-century homes.

Mackinac has over 1,000 rooms, but the charming

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Grand Hotel is perhaps the best known of its lodgings, welcoming groups with a choice of meal plans, plus afternoon tea, lawn games and dazzling views from its expansive rocking chair porch.

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Poppies

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Every spring, a corner of the Mojave Desert —an hour north of L.A. — comes alive with California’s state flower at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. The riot of colors appears as early as late February and often lasts through late May — the Poppy Festival is April 17-19.

Some years bring a “superbloom,” said Sandy Smith, executive director of Destination Lancaster CA. While the exact timing can’t be predicted, when it does happen, she said, “it’s totally unreal.” Group tours can be arranged on weekdays along the undulating hills’ eight miles of trails.

The vicinity is also known for its aerospace history. Nearby Edwards Air Force Base conducts free tours, which include the Air Force Flight Test Museum, Tuesday through Friday with advance reservations. In Palmdale, Joe Davies Heritage Airpark exhibits over 20 military and NASA aircraft.

BY WILLIAM DESOUSA-MAUK, COURTESY NANTUCKET COC

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Daffodils in Nantucket

International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park has an array of over 10,000 roses in 610 varieties, unfolding from late May through October. Guided group tours are organized between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. Peninsula Park maintains 5,000 shrubs; Ladd Circle Park and Rose Garden, 3,000 in 60 strains. Also in Washington Park are the Hoyt Arboretum and the Portland Japanese Garden, the perfect spot from which to glimpse Mount Hood.

Want more flowers? Lan Su Chinese Garden harmoniously combines art, design and nature, and the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens’ 2,500 spring bushes peak in late April/early May. T R AV E L P O R T L A N D.C O M

Tulips

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Bounded by Puget Sound, the Cascade Mountains, Seattle, and Vancouver, British Columbia, Washington’s Skagit Valley boasts over 1 million tulips thanks to a climate akin to a more famous tulip producer: Holland. The Tulip Festival runs annually April 1-30 and is planned as a driving tour because “there isn’t one specific address to go to,” said Cindy Verge, the festival’s executive director.

Fields include 360 acres primarily set between La Conner and Mount Vernon, as well as the show gardens at Tulip Town and RoozenGaarde. Groups can trade flowers for flours at the King Arthur Flour Baking School at the Bread Lab in Burlington.

Hands-on classes are scheduled for everyone from home bakers to professionals.

A different set of skills is called for at the Swinomish Casino and Lodge in Anacortes. Out on the water, excursions weave among the San Juan Islands to spot orcas and other wildlife.

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A Skagit Valley tulip garden

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Roses

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The City of Roses acquired its nickname in the early 1900s when cuttings brought from Europe caused citizens to “just go crazy and start planting them everywhere,” said Carol Ross of the Portland Rose Festival Foundation, which organizes a large international event that will take place this year May 22 to June 7.

The roses heritage is on display across the city and en masse at three locations. The Portland

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Cherry blossoms in New Jersey

BY ANTHONY KUEMPE, COURTESY SKAGIT VALLEY TULIP FESTIVAL

COURTESY ESSEX COUNTY PARKS & REC

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The world’s largest outdoor chandelier is the crown jewel of Cleveland’s Playhouse Square.

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D E S T I N AT I O N

BUCKEYE BULWARKS THREE BIGTIME CITIES D R AW T R AV E L E R S T O O H I O

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hio appeals to people with passions.

Music fans revel in rock memorabilia at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Wildlife fans admire extraordinary animals at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Baseball fans can cheer at a Reds game in Cincinnati. Beyond that, the state offers art collections, military museums, architectural wonders, and the list goes on and on.

Many of Ohio’s world-class attraction are in the state’s three major cities: Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. Stretched across the state from north to south, each city offers groups plenty of tour angles, from history to nightlife fun.

Groups can take advantage of Ohio’s diverse and quality attractions in these culturally vibrant cities.

CLEVELAND Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame doesn’t just rehash the history of past musicians; it nurtures future talent. Its new “Garage” exhibit allows groups to imagine themselves rock stars by playing instruments and recording their own song.

One of Cleveland’s signature attractions, the Hall of Fame is continuously reinventing itself with new exhibits. Coming in 2020 is “Play It Loud,” which will illustrate the important role of instruments in music. Instruments played

by Lady Gaga, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones will highlight the exhibit.

No matter when groups visit, the museum offers seven floors of exhibits about musical styles, famous musicians and the Hall of Fame’s induction ceremony event.

“At the ‘Power of Rock Experience,’ you go into a theater and watch different induction ceremonies,” said Kristen Jantonio, communications specialist for Destination Cleveland. “You feel like you are on the front row at the ceremony.

You can also vote on who you think should be inducted in the future.”

There are more cultural institutions at Cleveland’s University Circle, which

BY CODY YORK, COURTESY THISISCLEVELAND.COM G R O U P T R AV E L L E A D E R . C O M

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also offers a botanical garden, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Museum of Art. “When groups come to Cleveland, they are able to experience a variety of arts, culture, and rock and roll attractions,” said Jantonio. “We have the most concentrated square mile of arts and culture institutions in the country. There is a great variety for groups to pick from.”

The Cleveland Museum of Art attracts many groups for its free admission and impressive permanent collection of 61,000 works of art from around the world.

Groups can view art ranging from medieval to modern. It is internationally known for its substantial holdings of Asian and European art. An estimated 770,000 annual attendees make it one of the most visited art museums in the world.

The museum’s docents can reveal interesting details about the wide variety of works on display. The ArtLens Gallery provides a touch-screen interactive area where you can feel as though you are picking up and examining the art.

West Side Market is another favorite group attraction. It was one of the first public markets in the country. Some of the vendors inside can trace their roots to when the market first opened. Groups can wander through, shop and grab a bite to eat.

“West Side Market is definitely an iconic place in Cleveland,” said Jantonio. “You can see different ethnicities represented for a wide range of food options. It’s fun to talk with the vendors while you’re there.”

The market has appeared on the Food Network and other television features for its tasty food options and stunning architecture.

For a night out, groups can book a performance at one of the theaters on Playhouse Square. One of the largest performing arts districts outside of New York, the district offers Broadway, regional theater, the Great Lakes Theater Company and others shows. Groups can opt for a backstage tour to learn the intricacies involved in producing a Broadway series show.

“What’s great about the Broadway series is that they can learn a little bit about the show at Broadway Buzz, a preshow discussion,” said Jantonio. “Then on the backstage tour, groups stand on the stage and see how it all works. It is a cool experience from start to finish.”

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Cleveland Museum of Art Armor Court

Columbus Zoo COURTESY EXPERIENCE COLUMBUS

COLU M BUS Groups can add some beauty to the world with the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens’ Butterfly Release Program. The Columbus experience allows participants to release a newly emerged butterfly into the gardens. The colorful experience is only one of many interactive group-friendly activities possible in Columbus.

“We have been doing hands-on and experiential tours for over 10 years,” said Roger Dudley, director of tourism sales for Experience Columbus. “We keep our older ones fresh and add new ones all the time. A group can always come back and experience something different.”

The Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens offers other hands-on activities, including a few culinary programs where participants locate ingredients for pizza toppings or pasta sauce from a community garden. The experience allows groups to interact, eat and learn, all while inside a stunning setting.

The gardens sit on 40 acres on the eastern side of Franklin Park. The conservatory owns the largest collection of glass artwork by Dale Chihuly in a botanical garden.

It also houses works from light artist James Turell, whose installment illuminates the 1895 John F. Palm House every evening from dusk until dawn.

For a peek into Columbus’ past, groups can explore the German Village. The neighborhood offers German-themed dining options and attractions.

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BY NATHAN MIGAL, COURTESY THISISCLEVELAND.COM

“The Garage” at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

BY NATHAN MIGAL, COURTESY THISISCLEVELAND.COM

A culinary experience at Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus

“German Village is a wonderful neighborhood,” said Dudley. “The entire 233 acres of the village is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is a working neighborhood of Columbus with some great dining options inside. We plan guided group experiences there. Or if a group has a couple of hours of downtime, I suggest they drop them off at German Village.”

Tours venture into historic private homes and churches.

The area also works well for group free time to wander in local shops and restaurants. Many groups plan meals at Schmidt’s Restaurant and Banquet Haus. The fifth-generation-owned establishment started as a meat packaging company. Groups can enjoy a delicious buffet with the restaurant’s popular cream puffs for dessert.

In 2018, Columbus welcomed a major new attraction: the National Veterans Memorial and Museum. One of the only museums that honors veterans of all military branches, the attraction is filled with stories from servicemen and servicewomen. Tours help guests understand and appreciate the experiences of service members and their families; the tours conclude at a memorial grove outside with trees, benches and a reflecting pool.

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s r u o T r u O e v o You’  L Fellows Riverside Gardens Mill Creek MetroParks

photo: Scott Lanz

Lanterman’s Mill Mill Creek MetroParks

Ideal Northeast Ohio location midway between New York & Chicago, Cleveland & Pittsburgh

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800.447.8201

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Dino Hall at Cincinnati Museum Center

Jack Hanna’s old stomping grounds, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, also attracts a plethora of groups. Hanna, a television personality and wildlife conservationist, helped turn the zoo into a nationally known attraction for its diverse sampling of worldwide wildlife. Groups can go beyond the usual tour with a Wasafiri Adventure. The experience begins with a catered breakfast before a VIP giraffe-feeding and private animal encounter.

In 2020, the zoo plans to open Adventure Cove, its largest aquatic habitat. The 375,000-gallon water exhibit will hold sea lions and seals. Guests will be able to walk through a 60-foot-long tunnel to watch the animals swimming beside and above them. The presentation pool area will offer grandstand seating for up to 250 people for animal encounter presentations.

For a Columbus hidden gem, groups can experience the Kelton House. The home was a stop on the Underground Railroad, and first-person interpreters explain how the wealthy family lived as secret abolitionists, helping hundreds of slaves to freedom through Columbus.

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C I NC I N NAT I COURTESY CINCINNATI USA CVB

GET LOST IN

DAYS GONE BY. Bring your group to Greater Lima, Ohio.

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On the banks of the Ohio River, groups can watch a classic American sport at the Great American Ball Park, home of the Cincinnati Reds. The ballpark offers groups affordable premium seating, stadium tours and the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum.

The Reds play from April through September. In 2019, the ballpark began offering 50-minute game-day tours for groups to explore the stadium’s murals, dugouts and other behindthe-scenes areas before cheering on the Reds at a game.

At the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, groups can learn about the historic team. The new exhibit, “Home of the Reds,” features rare artifacts from the ballpark, including a replica of the beloved 1902 stadium’s facade.

For panoramic Cincinnati views, groups can go offshore aboard the BB Riverboat ARTWORK BY DONIA SIMMONS Cruises. Both the Belle of Cincinnati and the River Queen depart daily during the spring and summer months. Climate-controlled areas and open-air upper decks ensure a positive experience no matter the weather. The captain points out landmarks and shares the history of the Queen City during the cruise. Brunch, lunch or dinner cruises are also available.

A 1933 railroad station holds more of Ohio’s history at the Union Terminal. Now known as the Cincinnati Museum Center, the building recently underwent a $228

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GROUPS OFTEN HAVE THE SAME RESPONSE TO CLEVELAND. They come back.

Join in at ThisisCLEveland.com | #This isCLE Contact Cleveland’s Group Tour Team:

Jane Tougouma, CTIS, CSTP | Tel: 216.875.6607 | Email: jtougouma@destinationcle.org

Cincinnati Music Hall

million renovation to update the Art Deco structure and the center’s museums. The former station now holds the Cincinnati History Museum, the Duke Energy Children’s Museum, the Museum of Natural History and Science, and the Robert D. Lindner Family Omnimax theater. Groups can pick their preferred topics for interactive exhibits and private tour options.

One new feature in the Museum of Natural History and Science is the Science Interactives Gallery. The hands-on STEM exhibit allows guests to maneuver pulley systems, watch clouds form and knock down targets with blasts of air.

The newly reopened “Cave” exhibit allows student groups to explore a replica limestone cavern play area.

A new tenant is scheduled to open in the terminal this year: The Holocaust and Humanity Center will preserve and share stories of Holocaust survivors.

Whether groups prefer heavenly music from classic composers or familiar themes from movies, the Cincinnati Symphony and the Cincinnati Pops offer a range of summer park concerts and indoor performances. The company’s 1878 Music Hall underwent a restoration effort in 2017.

A tour of the hall can be added to a performance so that groups can learn about famous past performers, such as

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Ella Fitzgerald and Yo-Yo Ma. Tours also give anecdotes on the structure’s history, architecture, design and the people that helped build it.

The Music Hall sits in the vibrant Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, which offers restaurants, bars, breweries and art galleries that groups can add to a concert experience.

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center opened in 2004 to pay tribute to all efforts to abolish human enslavement. It recognizes the significant role of Cincinnati in the history of the Underground Railroad, since thousands of slaves escaped to freedom crossing the Ohio River from Southern slave states.

One of the main artifacts is a 21-by-30-foot log slave pen built in 1830. Visitors can walk into the pen and touch its walls for a visceral reminder of the horrors of slavery.

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Welcoming groups of all ages and sizes.

Make planning a breeze with one phone call for customized itineraries and services.

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KEYSTONE COOL H E R E A R E T H R E E G R E AT R E A S O N S T O V I S I T E A S T E R N P E N N S Y LVA N I A

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BY JILL GLEESON

f ever there were a place perfect for group travel, it’s the eastern half of the Keystone State. Anchored by the City of Brotherly Love, eastern Pennsylvania offers much more than the still-thriving boomtown where our forefathers founded the nation. Brandywine Valley and Valley Forge, both an easy drive west from Philadelphia, are stellar destinations in their own right. Like Philadelphia, they offer not only diverting history, but also cultural institutions that are second to none, heralded food and wine scenes, and fabulous shopping.

BY DYLAN EDDINGER, COURTESY VALLEY FORGE TCB

BRANDYWINE B EGI N I N B R A N DY W I N E Tour leaders might want to begin their group’s adventure in the lush, lyrical Brandywine Valley. Stretching across a slice of southern Chester County, this area is defined by its undeveloped landscape.

“Chester County has relegated something like 38% of its land to open space,” said Nina Kelly, director of marketing and communications for the Chester County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “And we’re known as America’s Garden Capital. Within 30 miles, there are 34 horticultural assets, and of course, we’re blessed that Longwood Gardens, one of the world’s great display gardens, is right here. It encompasses more than 1,000 acres, one of the largest indoor conservatories in North America and the most significant fountain collection. About 1.6 million people a year go to Longwood Gardens.”

Longwood Gardens offers guided tours to groups as well

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as special reserved seating for events like the Fireworks and Fountains show. But there are plenty of other ways for group travelers to enjoy the bounty of the Brandywine Valley, including a tasting and tour at Chaddsford Winery — Kelly recommends reaching out to Chester County CVB director of sales Courtney Babcock to set up an event there — and sampling some of the area’s mushrooms. About 64% of the country’s mushrooms are grown in Chester County.

Groups can shop for their favorite edible fungi in Kennett Square’s idyllic downtown or take in a mushroom museum and cooking demo at the Woodlands, located at Phillips Mushroom Farms.

Before heading northeast from the Brandywine Valley to Valley Forge, groups will want to stop at the Brandywine River Museum of Art, a gorgeous institution that showcases the work of the legendary Wyeth family, including Andrew Wyeth, who painted the masterpiece “Christina’s World.”

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PHILADELPHIA FOL LOW T H E FOU N DE R S TO PH I L A DE L PH I A

The National Memorial Arch at Valley Forge National Historical Park marks the spot where George Washington’s army spent a pivotal winter during the Revolutionary War.

VALLEY FORGE SHOPPI NG A N D MOR E AT VA L L E Y FORGE Then, it’s a quick 40-minute drive to the King of Prussia mall, where groups can shop, eat or relax with a drink.

“It’s the largest retail shopping mall in the country,” said Jessie Shi, international tourism sales manager for Valley Forge Tourism and Convention. “It has 450 stores, seven department stores and 30 restaurants. So you have plenty of options. For example, if you’d rather have economy shopping, there’s H&M; but if you’re feeling like luxury, there’s Coach, Burberry, Gucci — you name it. And King of Prussia also offers plenty of great group dining options, like Maggiano’s and True Food Kitchen.”

The Valley Forge area, which sits pretty in Montgomery County, also encompasses the site where Gen. George Washington camped with his Continental Army during the nation’s fight for independence. Groups can honor the determination and sacrifices of Washington and his troops with a ranger-led walking tour, trolley tour or even bike tour of Valley Forge National Historical Park. The park also hosts seasonal reenactments that are worth planning a trip around for Revolutionary War history buffs.

Meanwhile, birds of a feather will want to flock to the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove, which just wrapped up a $16 million renovation that added a brand-new 18,000-square-foot museum and nature facility.

Along with original Audubon prints, the center boasts the 18th-century home where the celebrated ornithologist and artist lived in his youth and miles of trails from which to enjoy the avian critters that so inspired him.

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After wrapping up their tour of Valley Forge, groups can head 18 miles into the city via Interstate 76, where a wealth of wonderful diversions await. Along with iconic sites Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were both signed; the Liberty Bell; and the Betsy Ross House, Philadelphia is consistently adding enticing new attractions, like the Faith and Liberty Discovery Center.

Set to debut this year, the center on Independence Mall will explore how values like faith and liberty have shaped America. Another recently opened attraction in Philadelphia is the Cherry Street Pier, a 64,000-square-foot public space tucked away on the central Delaware River waterfront. The Pier hosts a marketplace with goods from local craftspeople, spaces for artists who offer demonstrations and direct sales to the public, and plenty of options for locally sourced dishes and drinks from Philadelphia’s biggest names in food and beverage.

Speaking of fine vittles, fans of Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine will want to visit Elwood in the hot Fishtown neighborhood.

Less than a year old, the restaurant has been winning chef and owner Adam Diltz big accolades. There’s space for only about 26 guests, but groups are welcome to buy out the place for a night to experience goodies like ham pot pie, a stewlike dish with noodle squares found only in Pennsylvania.

Though there are enough new doings in Philly to keep groups busy far past their departure date, Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau communications manager Anthony Stipa suggests taking in some old favorites, too.

“Motorcoach groups always have an appetite for the museum district because it’s very accessible with parking, and it’s all in one condensed footprint that people can get to,” he said. “So you’ve got the Barnes Foundation, which has postimpressionist paintings from artists like Renoir, da Vinci and Monet, as well as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which is so iconic it’s really become an emblem for the city. You also have the Franklin Institute, which is dedicated to science and innovation. There are so many learning opportunities in these museums, which really appeals to the motorcoach crowd.”

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Brandywine River Museum

BY ANTHONY SINAGOGA, COURTESY BRANDYWINE RIVER MUSEUM

Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute

BY J. FUSCO, COURTESY VISIT PHILADELPHIA G R O U P T R AV E L L E A D E R . C O M

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ALL THE WRIGHT PLACES

DON’T MISS THESE ARCHITECTURAL ICONS

Home to legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Taliesin features 524 windows for sweeping views of the Wisconsin countryside.

BY ELIZA MYERS

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COURTESY TALIESIN

sk most people to name one architect, and they will name Frank Lloyd Wright. He remains America’s most well-known and celebrated architect, with 532 completed structures designed during his lifetime, 1867 to 1959.

Nature served as his inspiration to design structures in harmony with both humanity and the environment.

Instead of setting a house next to a waterfall, he famously built a house around an existing waterfall at Fallingwater. At Taliesin, he mimicked the flatness of the plains and natural limestone outcroppings of Wisconsin for a striking effect.

These tours go beyond architecture to tell fascinating personal stories of the eccentric designer. Groups touring these five iconic Wright homes will gain architectural insight, knowledge about the famous architect’s life and renewed creative inspiration.

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Pennsylvania’s Fallingwater Frank Lloyd Wright’s home at Taliesin COURTESY TALIESIN

TA L I E S I N SPRING GREEN, WISCONSIN Artists use their media to express themselves, which is why Taliesin is considered by many to be Wright’s autobiography in wood and stone. He used the home as a laboratory for architectural designs and innovations over the 62 years he lived and built there.

In the hilly Driftless Region of southwestern Wisconsin, the home, studio and country estate functions today as a museum. Groups can explore the 800-acre site to discover Wright’s architectural contributions and personal life.

Wright began work on the site when he was 29 years old. He moved there permanently in 1911 with his mistress, Mamah Cheney, the wife of his former neighbor and client.

Ostracized by society, Wright moved Cheney to the remote location. Tragedy came in 1914 when a servant at Taliesin went on a murderous rampage, setting fire to the home and killing several people, including Cheney.

Wright rebuilt Taliesin, though the home burned down again in 1925 from faulty wiring. The home standing today is known as Taliesin III. Evidence of past fire damage is still visible in certain blackened artworks and charred ceiling beams.

Tours reveal these compelling stories, as well as Wright’s trademark architectural contributions, such as his love of windows. The home has 524 windows to accommodate Wright’s wish to view the Wisconsin landscape from wherever he stood in the house. It also features open floor plans and has no gutters because Wright wanted to see icicles form in the winter.

Up to his death in 1959, Wright continued to make changes to Taliesin. The residence is now a UNESCO World Heritage site encompassing not just the Wright home, but also several Wright-designed buildings, such as the Romeo and Juliet Windmill, the Hillside School and the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center.

Groups can book several tours depending on their desired focus and length. Planners can stay longer at the site by arranging a group luncheon at the Riverview Terrace Café.

The two-hour house tour focuses on the picturesque rural estate. Some groups add the one-hour Hillside Studio and Theater Tour for a deeper exploration into Wright’s works.

For a quick-paced visit, the Highlights Tour visits the house, the grounds, the farming complex and the theater to cover spaces designed by Wright from 1902 to 1952.

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FA L L I N G W AT E R MILL RUN, PENNSYLVANIA Many thought Wright’s idea to build a house atop a waterfall was pure folly. Fallingwater, one of Wright’s most famous private residences, was built for Edgar J. Kaufmann and his wife in Mill Run, Pennsylvania. Kaufmann’s own engineers argued that Wright’s design was not sound.

The Kaufmanns initially asked Wright for views of the naturally occurring waterfall. However, Wright placed the home on top of the water in hopes that the waterfall would “become an integral part of your lives.”

Though some extra strengthening elements were added over the years, the house still stands as an iconic architectural achievement. It was one of Wright’s most expensive pieces at $155,000 in 1937. The family donated the house and 1,500 surrounding acres to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in 1963.

Because of its integration of a man-made structure with the natural world, Fallingwater exemplifies organic architecture. Wright used the cascading forms to inspire the home’s exterior terraces. The exterior walls used locally quarried sandstone and neutrally painted terraces to camouflage the dwelling in its surroundings.

Inside, the natural aesthetic continues with a sandstone fireplace built around two unmoved boulders. Even 170 of the decorative art pieces were designed by Wright to channel the outdoors in look and feel.

Fallingwater tours run from March through December.

Groups can opt for a one-hour or a two-hour guided house tour. The Fallingwater Brunch Tour includes brunch on the covered terrace to soak in the views as well as rooms such as the kitchen and servants’ quarters not seen on the regular tour.

Evening colors envelop the house during the Fallingwater Sunset Tour. After a two-hour tour, guests enjoy hors d’oeuvres on the terrace.

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PRICE TOWER BARTLESVILLE, OKLAHOMA When an oil pipeline firm asked Wright to design a “tower in a country town” in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Wright saw a chance to resurrect a former dream. He designed an unrealized 1925 proposal for a New York City apartment building that would rise into the air like a tree. Though ramifications of the Great Depression shelved the project, Wright adapted the idea for the Price Company in 1952.

Today, groups can tour Wright’s only skyscraper: the Price Tower. The 19-story building is one of only two Wright structures with a vertical orientation. The building’s design uses a treelike mast supported by a central “truck” of four elevator shafts anchored by a deep foundation. The upper floors branch out like a tree, since they don’t serve a load-bearing function. The exterior walls serve as ornamental screens decorated in copper leaves and gold-tinted glass.

Even the materials used were unusual for the time, and they were used for the pigmented concrete floors and the aluminum-trimmed windows. Like a tree, the building is asymmetrical and looks different from every angle.

In 2000, the building was donated to the Price Tower Arts Center. The center offers an art museum, tours of the historic tower, a hotel and a restaurant. The museum’s galleries include modern art, furniture, textiles and design. Some significant art pieces by Wright and renowned Oklahoma architect Bruce Goff are also on display.

On the 15th floor, the Cooper Restaurant and Bar offers sweeping views of Bartlesville and the surrounding prairie landscape. Groups can dine on upscale cuisine with regionally inspired drinks and Oklahoma craft beers.

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Price Tower Arts Center

Florida Southern College COURTESY FLORIDA SOUTHERN COLLEGE

FLORIDA SOUTHERN COLLEGE LAKELAND, FLORIDA To entice a world-renowned architect to central Florida, the president of Florida Southern College, Ludd Spivey, started with flattery. After attracting Wright’s attention in 1936, Spivey had to figure out how a Methodist college with no endowment could afford to build these elaborate structures. He solved this by offering free tuition for student labor.

Because of his tenacity, Florida Southern College holds the largest concentration of Wright-designed buildings in the world. Groups can learn how the partnership transformed the private college in Lakeland into the planned “college of tomorrow.”

Tours reveal Wright’s initial vision to create a “truly American campus” on an 80-acre network of buildings and covered walkways that radiated from a central hub.

Wright saw 12 of his 18 envisioned structures take shape over the next 20 years. In 2013, the Usonian Faculty House brought another Wright plan from 1938 to life to serve as a living museum.

Groups can start their visits at the Tourism and Education Center. The center provides guests with an overview of Wright’s relationship with the college as well as Wright-related artifacts and exhibits on loan from other Wright sites.

The site offers seven tours. The 60-minute introductory tour offers the stories behind some of the most well-known structures. The more popular 2.5-hour tour explores a larger number of structures and their interiors. Even more detail comes with the 3.5-hour behind-the-scenes tour, which is the only tour to reveal the Wright-designed planetarium.

The Water Dome serves as the focal point of the campus. The feature blasts water up to 45 feet into the air. The Annie Pfeiffer Chapel remains one of the most popular structures with its concrete block walls and small squares of colored glass.

FLSOUTHERN.EDU

COURTESY PRICE TOWER ARTS CENTER

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TR AVEL LE ADER

ROSENBAUM HOUSE MUSEUM FLORENCE, ALABAMA Most would imagine that only the upper class could afford a Wright-designed home. The Rosenbaum House Museum proves this wasn’t always the case. In Florence, Alabama, the house is the only Wright-designed dwelling in Alabama and the only southeastern Wright home viewable to the public.

Though the brown-brick home doesn’t make visitors immediately gasp when they view it from the street, the interior stuns with natural light. The home is known as one of the purest examples of Wright’s Usonian period.

The Rosenbaum House uses cypress wood, glass, brick and floor-to-ceiling windows. Each major room in the house has windows that open so people can walk outside.

This impressive structure was purchased by Stanley and Mildred Rosenbaum in 1939. At the time, Wright had begun designing inexpensive single-family “starter homes” for families. In 1946, the couple asked Wright to add 1,084 square feet to the 1,540-square-foot building for a larger kitchen, a guest room, storage space and a dormitory for the children.

The Rosenbaums lived in the home until 1999, when the city of Florence purchased it. With the help of volunteers and city funds, a major renovation saved the home and turned it into a museum.

Groups can tour the site to learn about the home’s architectural innovations, Wright’s connection to the location and the unusual life of the Rosenbaums.

W R I G H T I N A L A B A M A .C O M

Night and day at the Rosenbaum House Museum

COURTESY ROSENBAUM HOUSE MUSEUM

GROUP THE

TR AVEL LE ADER

NOT YOUR AVERAGE DESTINATION Plan your vacation to Chickasaw Country, one of Oklahoma’s best kept secrets, for an authentic local experience filled with nature, shopping, culture and cuisine; we promise we’re worth the trip.

ChickasawCountry.com #visitchickasaw

33

Staff Sound-off

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE NATURAL WONDER YOU’VE SEEN ON THE ROAD?

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PUBLISHER MAC LACY

his is a tough one. Alaska makes such an impression on any American traveler. It’s impossible to describe how big and wild it continues to be. It is a treasure. But I’m going with Wadi Rum in Jordan. Wadi Rum is a rose-colored desert whose sight lines are interrupted by mountains that seem to rise from nowhere. I want to go back there to spend a couple of nights at a camp to stargaze. I am told the heavens at night in Wadi Rum will make you ponder the universe like never before.

M

VP, SALES & MARKETING KELLY TYNER

DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING SALES KYLE ANDERSON

y favorite natural wonder is the Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal. I went on a 10-day trek and hiked for six to nine hours each day, winding through some of the world’s tallest mountain ranges in order to make it to the next guest house before dark.

Although the hikes were exhausting, I got to experience quaint mountain villages and remote temples and monasteries. I enjoyed traditional Nepalese food at the tearooms and met people from all over the world. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience I will never forget.

K

GRAPHIC DESIGN & CIRCULATION ASHLEY RICKS

entucky is a wonderful place to live, not least because of its natural beauty. Cumberland Falls and Mammoth Cave are both at the top of my favorites list, so it’s fortunate I live less than three hours from both.

H

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

ands down, it’s the Grand Canyon! I’ve never been to someplace that literally took my breath away and gave me the goosebumps at the same time. The colors were like nothing I had ever seen.

DONIA SIMMONS

A

VP & EXECUTIVE EDITOR

ll of New Zealand is beautiful, but Milford Sound is stunning beyond words. I’ll always remember the moment I got my first glimpse of the sound and the surrounding mountains from the picture window in a hotel room. I’ve never felt so awed by nature.

BRIAN JEWELL

F

or me, it’s driving through the Smokies. I’ve been through several times, and I always get goosebumps when I drive through.

EDITOR’ S NOTE Welcome to Staff Sound-Off, the monthly column where our staff members answer questions about their travel practices and preferences. We hope you enjoy these tips. If you have a question you’d like to see us answer, send it to me and it may appear in a future issue.

BRIANJ@GROUPTR AVELLEADER .COM

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2020 TRAVEL SOUTH TOUR PLANNER

go SOUTH

BRING FRIENDS

Cook Musuem of Natural Science, Decatur Gulf State Park, Gulf Shores

U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville

Selma Interpretive Center, Selma

Whether it’s learning about the natural world in Decatur and Gulf Shores, the past and future of space exploration in Huntsville, or the Civil Rights Movement in Selma, we can supply you with itineraries for several Group Tours.

Trouble is...deciding which tour to take first. We’ll keep adding to the list, you just keep coming for new adventures. www.alabama.travel To learn how your group can experience Alabama, contact Rosemary Judkins at rosemary.judkins@tourism.alabama.gov or 334-242-4493.

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BRING FRIENDS

2 0 2 0 T R AV E L S O U T H T O U R P L A N N E R Courtesy Virginia Tourism Corporation

25 Years of Growth

New and Improved

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SOUTHERN TOURISM LEADERS LOOK BACK ON A QUARTER CENTURY OF SUCCESS.

ATTRACTIONS DEBUTING ACROSS THE SOUTH BRING MORE REASONS FOR GROUPS TO VISIT.

Sampling the South

Southern Adventures

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CULINARY TOURS OFFER GREAT WAYS TO EXPLORE THESE SOUTHERN DESTINATIONS.

BREAK A LIGHT SWEAT AND ENJOY SOME EASY THRILLS AT THESE SCENIC SOUTHERN SPOTS.

Music Experiences

PUBLISHED FOR

3500 PIEDMONT RD. NE, STE. 210 ATLANTA, GA 30305 404-231-1790 WWW.TRAVELSOUTHUSA.COM

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GROUPS CAN MEET MUSICIANS AND UNLEASH THEIR OWN CREATIVITY AT THESE MUSICAL ATTRACTIONS.

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ON THE COVER: Travelers enjoy a fresh seafood feast in coastal South Carolina.

NICHE TRAVEL PUBLISHERS 301 EAST HIGH STREET LEXINGTON, KY 40507 WWW.GROUPTRAVELLEADER.COM

FOR ADVERTISING CALL KELLY TYNER AT 888-253-0455 S O U T H

T O U R

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WHAT DID MARK TWAIN SAY IN 1883? Who were the Creole Cowboys?

And how did Baton Rouge become an independent nation for 74 days? With beautiful museums, delectable food and a vibrant music scene, indulge in Louisiana’s culture when you explore its Capital City of Baton Rouge.

Unearth more of the unexpected at VisitBatonRouge.com/explore

VISIT BATON ROUGE IS PROUD TO HOST THE 2020 TRAVEL SOUTH DOMESTIC SHOWCASE

BOARD of DIRECTORS LEE SENTELL DIRECTOR

JIM DAILEY TOURISM DIRECTOR

LISA LOVE INTERIM DEPUTY COMMISSIONER

ALABAMA TOURISM DEPARTMENT

ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND TOURISM

GEORGIA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOURISM DIVISION

W W W . AL AB AMA. T RAVEL

WWW.A R K A N S A S .C O M

WWW.EXPLO R EG EO R GIA.O R G

JAY HALL ACTING COMMISSIONER

DOUG BOURGEOIS ASSISTANT SECRETARY

D. CRAIG RAY DIRECTOR

KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM

LOUISIANA OFFICE OF TOURISM

VISIT MISSISSIPPI

W W W . KEN T U CKY TOU RISM. COM

WWW.LO U I S I A N A TR A VEL.C O M

WWW.VI S I TM I S S I S S I PP I.O R G

LUKE HOLTSCHNEIDER INTERIM DIRECTOR

WIT TUTTELL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

MARK EZELL COMMISSIONER

MISSOURI DIVISION OF TOURISM

VISIT NORTH CAROLINA

TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF TOURIST DEVELOPMENT

W W W . VISITMO. COM

WWW.VI S I TN C .C O M

WWW.TN VA C A TI O N .C O M

DUANE PARRISH DIRECTOR

RITA MCCLENNY PRESIDENT/CEO

CHELSEA RUBY COMMISSIONER

SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF PARKS, RECREATION & TOURISM

VIRGINIA TOURISM CORPORATION

WEST VIRGINIA DIVISION OF TOURISM

WWW.VI R G I N I A .O R G

WWW.WVTO U R I S M .C OM

WWW.DISCOVERSOUTHCAROLINA.COM

Rosie’s Gaming Emporium Virginia’s gaming scene grew this year with the opening of Rosie’s Gaming Emporium in Richmond. The emporium features 700 gaming machines based on historic horse races. Groups can also arrange meals at Rosie’s Kitchen, a casual restaurant with burgers, pizza and sandwiches, or enjoy signature cocktails such as a Rosie’s Punch or Blueberry Lemon Drop at Rosie’s Bar. This is the fourth Rosie’s location in the state; others are in New Kent, Vinton and Hampton.

ROSIESGAMING.COM

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t h at vo i c e yo u ’ r e h e a r i n g ? m a y b e i t ’ s n o t y o u r g p s a p p.

The open road. It has a way of calling to us. Here in West Virginia, it’s always worth listening to. Because it leads to places that get into your soul. Landmarks and landscapes that are forever etched in your mind.

Eventually calling you back to feel it all over again.

WVtourism.com

Canaan Valley

go SOUTH

Courtesy SCPRT

BRING FRIENDS

PA R R I S H H A S S O U T H C A R O L I N A AT T H E T O P O F T H E C H A R T S B Y MAC L ACY

D

arius Rucker may have the most instantly recognizable voice in popular music today. As lead singer for Hootie and the Blowfish, and as a major crossover star on his own, the personable vocalist would be a natural as a spokesperson or ambassador for almost any destination in the world.

But it just so happens that Rucker is from South Carolina, and his roots run deep. And his home state benefits from his universal appeal. Clad almost always in a University of South Carolina baseball cap, the internationally known musician is currently representing his home state at numerous tourism events and appearances.

“Darius is on the cover of our 2020 South Carolina visitor’s guide, if that tells you anything,” said Duane Parrish, the state’s longtime tourism director and current Travel South USA chairman. “He has done concerts for us domestically and internationally, and people love him. He and the band did four concerts in Europe this summer in places like London and Paris.”

Fortunately, Rucker doesn’t have to stretch the truth to sing the praises of his

home state. South Carolina is riding a wave of popularity that most other states cannot match. When asked what best characterizes the Palmetto State’s appeal, Parrish cites its tourism diversity from one end to the other.

“Let’s take golf, for instance,” he said. “Golfers can literally play golf on the ocean in the morning and, again, in the mountains that afternoon. Our coast is blessed with places as different as Charleston and Myrtle Beach, and as you move inland, we offer the Blue Ridge Mountains and outstanding cities like Greenville, or equine destinations like Aiken and Camden. Our hospitality surprises people — I like to tell people their blood pressure drops by 10 points as soon as they get here.”

Parrish wants groups to know that his state has invested more than $100 million in its state park system during the past eight years and that St. Phillips Island, off the coast of Beaufort, has been purchased and prepped for small groups to enjoy photography, birding, oyster roast tours, day hiking and much more.

In South Carolina, Rucker has material to last a lifetime.

DUANE PARRISH

New SOUTH

SOUTH CAROLINA

8

Unity Park The city of Greenville recently broke ground on the f irst phase of a new six-acre greenspace: Unity Park. The park will feature a 10-story observation deck that offers visitors scenic views of the nearby Blue Ridge mountain range. Other highlights will include a gathering hall for special events and concerts and a pedestrian bridge and landscaped riverbanks along the Reedy River. The idea for Unity Park was formed in 1907.

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AMERICA & BEYOND SMALL RECEPTIVE TOUR OPERATOR IS MAKING A BIG IMPRESSION

BY VICKIE MITCHELL

Y

ves Fore is excited. He has just fielded a call from an outbound tour operator in Europe who wants Fore to develop a specialized itinerary, one that opens travelers’ eyes to the issues of slavery in America.

“For me, this is a fantastic challenge,” said Fore. “I am thinking about this nonstop, and I cannot wait to talk to people and do tons of research to see what we can do. I want to create a package that everybody will see and say, ‘I want to go on that tour.’”

Customized tour packages are the specialty of America & Beyond, a receptive tour operator led by Roger Montgomery, CEO and president, and Fore, vice president of operations. They launched what they describe as a “boutique” receptive tour company four years ago and in that short time, America & Beyond has made a highly favorable impression.

In fact, in December, America & Beyond was named one of Travel South USA’s Ambassadors at the 12-state regional marketing alliance’s international conference in St. Louis. The award recognizes America & Beyond’s work in marketing the American South to travelers. Their tours of the region, from civil rights sites to Delta blues bars and Nashville’s sounds, have resonated with European travelers.

Fore marvels at the recognition from Travel South, noting that among 2018’s Ambassadors were large receptive tour operators with decades in business. “This is a big honor for such a small company as ours,” he said.

BRINGING DIFFERENT SKILLS TO THE TABLE

Montgomery is a native Californian who spent most of his career on Wall Street but keeps a giant RV readied for road trips. Fore was born in the south of France but has lived many years in New York and has for 30 years worked for large receptive tour operators as well as hotels.

Like Fore, Montgomery develops itineraries, but he also puts much of his focus on finances. “We run a very fiscally conservative company. We want to make sure we are around in the long-term, providing for our clients.”

Fore’s years in travel and tourism mean valuable connections to tour operators, hotels, attractions and other suppliers.

Because both have traveled extensively, Montgomery and Fore can sit down with a client and come up with an itinerary that won’t be staid or standard and will also have a marketable price point. “We approach it in a consultative manner,” said Montgomery.

“Wherever we send tours, Yves or I have probably been there and experienced what they will experience.”

America & Beyond has impressed many clients with personal service that belies the company’s small size. “The phone numbers on our business cards and emails, those are our cell phones,” said Montgomery. “If a client calls outside office hours, the call does not go to a hotline or someone in another country, it rings through to us and we handle it.”

Such service does not go unnoticed. “We met with a client--the largest tour operator in

Italy--and the first thing they said to us was, ‘When something happens, you have the best customer service and you take care of the problem right away,’” said Fore.

Already, America & Beyond is getting repeat calls from outbound tour operators, ready to develop the next tour.

“Our biggest thrill,” said Montgomery, “is when we hear that a passenger has returned to an outbound operator in Europe because they liked what they experienced on that first tour-and the tour operator used us-- and then the tour operator comes back to us, because we did such a good job.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION AMERICA & BEYOND americabeyond.com yves@americabeyond.com 347-578-1931 roger@americabeyond.com 347-578-1932

go SOUTH

BRING FRIENDS

Courtesy KY Dept. of Tourism

B I T T N E R I S A B E L I E V E R I N T H E E V O LV I N G G R O U P M A R K E T B Y MAC L ACY

T

ravel South USA president and CEO Liz Bittner expects to see familiar trends continuing to characterize the travel of domestic groups into her region in 2020.

“We believe smaller groups will continue to reconfigure how the South is enjoyed,” said Bittner. “Like many other segments of the industry, groups will seek a smaller footprint when they travel so they can enjoy a more authentic experience while they’re here. Authenticity comes in places like a 100-year-old distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky, or Providence Canyon in southwest Georgia.

“It’s not coincidental that another one of the biggest trends we’re seeing is the changing inventory being offered by transportation companies across the region,” she said. “Where 20 years ago, they featured almost exclusively full-size coaches, we’re seeing so much more customized equipment on the road now. Smaller travel groups today have a lot more options to choose from, and they are driving demand for smaller vehicles.

“The culinary aspects of group travel will only continue to grow as well,” she said. “I can’t think of another region in America that is better able to capitalize on the penchant for regional cuisine than we are. From the finest restaurants in Charleston to the barbecue joints across the South, groups are demanding trips that taste different from where they originated.

“In addition to major draws like Nashville or New Orleans, up-and-coming cities are also gaining traction with groups,” said Bittner. “Our board of directors met this year in Greenville, South Carolina, and what an eye-opener that was. What they’ve done in Greenville along their riverfront is remarkable. That is one cool city for a group.”

Bittner is worry-free about the delegate experience at her Travel South Domestic Showcase meeting, scheduled for March 8-11 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

“Hey, we’re in Louisiana,” she said.

“Those folks pull out all the stops. Baton Rouge will be a party. Count on amazing food, decadent drinks and maybe even some fireworks.”

LI Z B I T T N E R

WWW.TRAVELSOUTHUSA.COM

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EXPLORE ELVIS’ SPIRITUAL SIDE IN TUPELO, HIS HOMETOWN

BY VICKIE MITCHELL

A

tiny clapboard Assembly of God Church in Tupelo, Mississippi, ignited Elvis Presley’s passion for gospel music. Later, as his rock ’n’ roll career took off, Elvis and his backup singers often warmed their voices by singing spirituals. All three Grammys he won were for his gospel recordings.

“Gospel and Christianity were such a part of him and of this part of the world,” said Jan Pannell, sales manager for the Tupelo Convention and Visitors Bureau.

There’s no better place than Tupelo to grasp the role faith played in the life of one of America’s most-celebrated recording artists. Elvis spent his formative years in Tupelo; his first guitar came from a store that’s still in business downtown.

START THE DAY WITH A DRIVING TOUR

A day in Tupelo might begin with the Elvis Presley Driving Tour. Among the dozen sites are his elementary school and Fairpark, the fairgrounds where a larger-than-life statue commemorates his 1956 performance there.

The CVB can provide a complimentary stepon guide.

The drive around town is brightened by colorfully painted metal guitars, a community art project, and downtown murals, all great backdrops for group photos. “One fairly new mural is a Tupelo postcard,” said Pannell. “People are forever getting their picture made in front of it.”

BUY A GUITAR AT TUPELO HARDWARE

Downtown, at Tupelo Hardware, staff are happy to share the story of Elvis’ first guitar, which his mother bought there, and show off its selection of guitars, still a top seller.

Armed with complimentary maps, groups

can then explore downtown, choosing among local restaurants for lunch. Or, they might reboard the motorcoach for a stop at Johnnie’s Drive-In, one of Elvis’ favorite hangouts.

Because it is tiny and incredibly popular, the best option at Johnnie’s, Pannell says, might be to preorder its famous dough burgers and milkshakes, and enjoy them on the motorcoach. Groups are welcome to make a quick walk through Johnnie’s and have their pictures snapped sitting in the booth favored by the King.

END THE DAY AT ELVIS’ BIRTHPLACE

At the Elvis Presley Birthplace, Elvis’ ties to church and song are strongest, especially in the little church he and his family attended, which was moved to the site. His family’s two-room home is also open for tours.

In the church, an interactive experience makes visitors feel they are surrounded by worshippers at a 1940s church service.

Late afternoon tours at the site can shift into dinner and entertainment at the event.

Sunday night suppers — meat and vegetable meals served any day of the week —add an authentic Southern touch. Before dinner, groups can watch a short movie about Elvis in the center’s theater which seats 126.

Elvis tribute artists are a favorite for after-dinner entertainment. There are many in the area, and each artist portrays Elvis at a different point in his career.

“Tribute artists are different than an impersonator,” said Pannell. “They are Elvis fans and they love him. They pay tribute to Elvis and keep his image and memory alive.”

Like Tupelo, they celebrate a man who, through songs both spiritual and spirited, enthralled millions worldwide.

TUPELO ELVIS FESTIVAL To hear soulful spirituals, plan a trip to Tupelo June 3-7, 2019 for the annual Tupelo Elvis Festival.

Sunday’s schedule begins with gospel performances. Tickets are required; this year’s show is Sunday, June 7.

WWW.TUPELOELVISFESTIVAL.COM

FOR MORE INFORMATION TUPELO CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU

662-841-6521 visittupelo@tupelo.net jpannell@tupelo.net www.tupelo.net

OFF

the

CHARTS SOUTHERN STATES REFLECT ON TOURISM’S ASCENSION OVER 25 YEARS

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BY BRIAN J EWELL

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t’s amazing the difference a quarter-century can make.

This year marks the 25th edition of the Travel South Tour Planner.

Across the board, states throughout the region have seen dramatic gains in tourism, since 1994. Much of that progress has come hand-in-hand with major new tourist developments and initiatives.

We spoke to representatives from six Southern states to find out how their destinations have changed and grown in the past quarter-century.

AR LI E GAR DENS I N WI LM I NGTON HAS B EEN US ED AS A LOCATION FOR MANY OF TH E MOVI ES AN D TV S HOWS FI LM ED AROU N D NORTH CARO LI NA .

Courtesy Visit NC

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ARKANSAS’ CRYSTAL BRI DG ES M US EUM OF AM ERICAN ART

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Courtesy Crystal Bridges

SOUTH

Arkansas:

BRING FRIENDS

A PRESIDENTIAL LEGACY

I

n January 1995, Bill Clinton was in the middle of his first term as president. His popularity helped to shine a spotlight on his home state.

“When Clinton was elected, it put Arkansas on the map,” said Jim Dailey, who retired as tourism director at the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism on December 31, 2019.

Soon after Clinton left office in 2001, he announced plans to locate his presidential library in an overlooked area of downtown Little Rock on the banks of the Arkansas River. That announcement spurred a series of developments that revolutionized the city and led to a serious uptick in tourism statewide.

“The presidential library opened during the time I was mayor of Little Rock,” Dailey said. “That was one of the greatest anchor assets we could have ever asked for to help us establish a renaissance of redevelopment in downtown Little Rock.”

The Clinton library opened in 2004. Seven years later, another major attraction, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, opened in Bentonville, a town in the northwest corner of the state. Bentonville is the corporate home of Walmart Inc., and the Walton family was instrumental in the museum’s opening.

“Crystal Bridges opened in 2011, and they’ve had between 1.5 and 2 million people visit,” Dailey said.

“Last year, the economic impact on tourism for northwest Arkansas was about $1.7 billion.”

Contemplating the end of his tourism career, Dailey was excited about the future of the Natural State. Several

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other major projects are being developed, including the U.S. Marshals Museum, set to open in Fort Smith early this year.

“This is Arkansas’ time to shine and our time to be an economic player in the world of tourism,” he said. “We’re going to continue to build on the strengths that we have and the basic fiber of what Arkansas is all about.”

ARKANSAS.COM

North Carolina:

READY FOR ITS CLOSE-UP

I

f you’ve ever spent time in North Carolina, you already know that it features stunning scenery, charming towns and talented people. When Hollywood discovered those traits, it opened a new chapter in North Carolina’s business community and tourism offerings.

Feature filmmakers first started visiting North Carolina in the late 1980s, with director Dino De Laurentiis opening a studio in Wilmington. Then in the 1990s, the state began making significant investments in its film industry, creating incentives for productions to shoot there. That opened the floodgates for what has become a thriving industry.

“Locations were key to landing film business, and they have played a key role in the productions that have come to North Carolina,” said Guy Gaster, director of FilmNC. “And when folks enjoy cinema and TV series

S O U T H

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Come take in all of the soul–satisfying sights, sounds, flavors and places Louisiana serves up daily.

Plan your getaway today at LouisianaTravel.com. Š 2020 Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism

and see the locations highlighted, they want to come experience those places for themselves.”

North Carolina’s list of film and TV credits is now long and wide-ranging. Notable recent productions filmed there include “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and the “Hunger Games” trilogy, which brought massive numbers of visitors to the mountainous western part of the state.

Wilmington, with its coastal charm, continues to land starring roles as well.

“The heart of our industry is on the coast in picturesque Wilmington,” Gaster said. “We’ve had projects as big as ‘Iron Man 3’ there. ‘One Tree Hill’ and ‘Dawson’s Creek’ both had long runs there too, and they were able to travel and feature other parts of the state, including the Biltmore House and Duke University. Those projects still have people coming. Especially in today’s world of streaming entertainment, new fans are discovering those series and finding out they can come visit those places.”

VISITNC.COM

South Carolina:

NEW NATIONAL PARKS

A “ H U NG ER GAM ES” FAN I N NORTH CARO LI NA

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Courtesy Visit NC

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national park can bring a lot of visitors to an area. Since 2003, South Carolina, a state already popular with visitors, garnered a lot of attention with the designation of three new national parks within its borders.

Many of the park sites were already protected as state parks or other historic areas. But the national park designation takes them to new levels.

“The designation opens doors to national opportunities we may not have otherwise had,” said Dolly Chewning, director of tourism sales and marketing for the South

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Outdoor Adventures | Louisiana Cuisine | Premier Shopping

playing in New Orleans’ backyard Enjoy southern hospitality just a beat from New Orleans; experience Jefferson Parish. Enjoy festivals year-round, historic districts, shopping and value priced accommodations. Catch the adventure on our swamp and bayou tours, then savor classic Cajun cuisine.

W W W . V I S I TJ E F F E R S O N P A R I S H . C O M 5 0 4 . 7 3 1 . 7 0 8 3 | TO L L F R E E 1 . 8 7 7. 5 7 2 . 74 74

Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.

“It elevates the perception of the stories we have to tell.”

South Carolina’s first site to receive the designation was Congaree National Park, which preserves some of the oldest bottomland forests on the East Coast. In 2019, historic Civil War sites near Charleston received a joint designation as Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park.

Perhaps the most significant park development came in 2017, when President Barack Obama designated the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park, which comprises a string of historic sites in Beaufort.

“South Carolina has a significant national story, and the national park makes it easier for Beaufort to help people discover the transformative effects of Reconstruction,” Chewning said. “Having these national parks provides jobs and fuels recreation and tourism.

It also connects people to our history and heritage on a state and national level.”

NORTH CARO LI NA’S SCENIC COAST

DISCOVERSOUTHCAROLINA.COM

West Virginia:

BLAZING NEW TRAILS

Courtesy Visit NC

I

n the 1990s, civic leaders in West Virginia faced a conundrum. The southwest region of the state had huge swaths of beautiful mountain landscapes, but they were inaccessible to visitors because they were held by private mining corporations.

“We were primarily a natural resource extraction area,” said Jeffrey Lusk, executive director of the Hatfield McCoy Regional Recreation Authority. “We had millions of acres of privately held property. So our idea was to go to these owners and create a public body that would allow people from all over the country to come ride ATVs, UTVs and off-road motorcycles.”

That idea led to the inception of the Hatfield and McCoy trails, a system of scenic off-road vehicle trails on private property that was open for public use. The system debuted in 2000 with 300 miles of trails, and

FORT MOU LTRI E AN D FORT SUMTER NATIONAL H ISTORIC PARK

Courtesy SCPRT

U.S. Marshals Museum During the Wild West heyday of the 1800s, more U.S. Marshals died serving the territory around Fort Smith than any other place or time in American history. To commemorate the work of the marshals, the U.S. Marshals Museum will open in Fort Smith this year. The project was first announced in 2007 and is being built with more than $50 million in privately raised funds. When it opens, the museum will feature both historic artifacts and state-of-the-art multimedia technology.

USMMUSEUM.ORG

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AN OFF-ROAD ADVENTU R E I N WEST VI RGI NIA

WEST VI RGI NIA’S HATFI ELD & M CCOY TRAI LS

Photos Courtesy WV Tourism Office

administrators sold 5,000 permits in just three months.

“We knew we had something great,” Lusk said.

“We’ve grown every year since our inception. In 2018, we sold 50,031 permits, and over 85% of those were to non-West Virginia residents.”

Today the trail system covers 250,000 acres of private property, with commitments from other owners to add up to three times that amount. It is also creating significant economic opportunities in the region.

“We’ve had over 50 new businesses open up around the trail system — ATV outfitters and lodging businesses that are accommodating our riders,” Lusk said. “Our outfitters rent ATVs and UTVs and also offer guided tours. They provide you with helmets and machines, then take you on a fully guided tour with a trail lunch. They show you the scenic overlooks and tell you about the history of the area and the towns.

They make it a very holistic experience, from hearing about our culture to eating our local foods and going to restaurants you wouldn’t have found on your own.”

Lusk said the organization is now conducting an economic impact study and expects to find an annual economic impact of $40 million to $50 million from the trail system.

WVTOURISM.COM

Louisiana:

TRIPLING TOURISM

L

ouisiana, which has been popular with tourist for decades, has seen remarkable growth industrywide over the past 25 years. And that growth is most notable in areas of critical importance: visitation and economic impact.

In 1994, Louisiana welcomed 17.9 million visitors. In 2018, the state reached

318 Howard Street • Greenwood, Mississippi 662.453.2114 • thealluvian.com

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The Walmart Museum, Bentonville Crystal Bridges, Bentonville

Downtown Eureka Springs

COME FIND YOUR ARKANSAS

ArkansasGroupTravel.com Fayetteville

LOUISIANA’S ATCHAFALAYA NATIONAL H ERITAG E AR EA

Courtesy NPS

A STATUE AT THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL FOR PEACE & JUSTICE

51.3 million visitors, nearly tripling visitation over a quarter-century. Much of that growth came from Canada, which has tripled in visitation since 1998 to become the state’s largest international market.

Those figures alone don’t tell the whole story. Hidden in statistics from the past 25 years is the state’s remarkable recovery from Hurricane Katrina in 2004.

That year, 10.1 million people visited New Orleans and spent $4.9 billion, according to the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation. The following year, visitation plummeted to 2.6 million visitors, less than half of what it was before the hurricane.

Over the decade that followed, the city bounced back, and its tourism industry made dramatic gains. In 2014, the city received 9.5 million visitors, who spent $6.8 billion, a record amount at the time.

Today, Louisiana’s record-breaking streak continues. The state reports that 237,000 residents worked in hospitality in 2018, up from 158,600 in 1994.

LOUISIANATRAVEL.COM

Alabama:

CAJ U N M USIC I N LOUISIANA

By Human Pictures, courtesy EJI

Courtesy NPS

TH E LEGACY M US EUM I N MONTGOM ERY

EMBRACING ITS STORIES

T

wenty-five years ago, few people in Alabama were talking about the state’s civil rights legacy. Some of its most pivotal sites were nearly lost to history.

“In the early 1990s, I was working on a travel book about Alabama,” said Lee Sentell. “When I came to Montgomery, the Southern Poverty Law Center’s civil rights memorial was the only indication that anything had ever happened in Alabama dealing with civil rights. I found the sites where Rosa Parks got on the bus and where she got arrested, and there was no recognition at either site. Troy University was about to build a parking deck over one of them.”

Sentell, who now serves as the director of the Alabama Tourism Department, began lobbying Alabama’s representatives in Congress for recognition of these

By Human Pictures, courtesy EJI

Union Station Attractions From 1894 to 1978, Union Station served as St. Louis’ primary train depot. In the 1980s, it was repurposed as a mixed-use facility. Last fall, a number of new experiences opened at Union Station, including a Ferris wheel, a carousel, mini-golf, a ropes course and a mirror maze. But the biggest news will be the opening of the St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station this winter. The 120,000-square-foot aquarium will house more than 13,000 marine animals.

STLOUISUNIONSTATION.COM

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New SOUTH MISSOURI

Open Doors to Curiosity. Discovery. Belonging.

Step through our doors today. Come explore the many stories that connect us all as Mississippians.

222 North Street, Jackson museumofmshistory.com

Shine Light on the Power of Courage.

Explore the movement that changed the nation — and the people behind it.

222 North Street, Jackson mscivilrightsmuseum.com

Almost Heaven Airstream

sites. That recognition led others throughout the state to build monuments and museums to tell the stories of civil rights pioneers.

“Now, I’m proud to say I’m on the board of the Rosa Parks Museum,” Sentell said. “And we recently had the opening of the Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum, the world’s first lynching museum and memorial in downtown Montgomery. If someone had told me that a museum about lynching would attract 400,000 people in its first year, I would have said it wouldn’t happen. But it did.

“People who would never have come to Alabama or Montgomery are coming in significant numbers. The city is seeing motorcoaches in numbers it has never encountered before.”

Now, Sentell and Alabama are leading another monumental effort. They spearheaded the creation of the U.S. Civil Rights Trail in 2018, connecting significant historical sites in many Southern states and beyond.

Under the guidance of the National Park Service and with the support of Georgia State University, they are now nominating Civil Rights Trail sites for inclusion on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites.

New SOUTH

The West Virginia Tourism Office is taking its “Almost Heaven” message on the road with the new Almost WEST VIRGINIA Heaven A irstream. This refurbished classic A merican travel trailer was retrof itted to serve as a mobile visitor center that highlights West Virginia experiences. The Airstream features TV screens playing videos of West Virginia scenic destinations as well as activity stations with post cards and West Virginia trivia, all with John Denver’s “Country Roads” playing in the background.

WVTOURISM.COM

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Explore Myrtle Beach

Fresh Itineraries | Diverse Accommodations | Live Entertainment | History & Nature Coastal Carolina Cuisine | Incredible Shopping | Southern Hospitality

800.488.8998 | MyrtleBeachGroups.com

Discover group destinations that are distinctly Georgia, from the mountains to the coast and all the worlds in between.

We invite you to...

NACOOCHEE ADVENTURES

Helen

There’s no better way to take in the stunning scenery of North Georgia than ziplining through the Blue Ridge Mountain canopy. At Nacoochee Adventures, only a mile from downtown Helen, your group can glide through the trees, set out on ATV excursions, and get immersed in the heritage of the area. Between activities, guides will share local history spanning from the Native Americans to the gold rush and prohibition-era moonshiners.

Photo credit: @kaaaaaaty

NATIONAL CENTER FOR CIVIL & HUMAN RIGHTS

Atlanta

Standing proud in downtown Atlanta, the National Center for Civil & Human Rights is a beacon of hope and progress. Like the many civil rights monuments and museums across the state, the draw of the center isn’t just the lessons of looking back, but what your group will take away moving forward.

Photo credit: @brittjane_c

TYBEE ISLAND LIGHT STATION & MUSEUM

Tybee Island

Just twenty minutes from the historic and lively port city of Savannah is Tybee Island.

Your group will find five miles of public beaches, discover a lighthouse built in 1736, and enjoy plenty of fresh, local seafood.

Whether for relaxation on the sand or dolphin tours and sunset cruises on the water, Tybee gives your crew an island getaway right here in Georgia.

Photo credit: @mylittlelifesjourneys

ExploreGeorgia.org/groups

KEEPING

things FRESH SOUTHERN CUISINE IS PALATE PERFECT

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BY ELIZA MYERS

S

outherners take their cuisine and their hospitality very seriously. They argue about the proper seasonings for boudin or the best way to prepare fresh-caught flounder. And when Southern cooks compete with each other, it’s always their customers that win.

Groups shouldn’t merely attach meals onto the margins of an itinerary; they should incorporate food into the central focus of a Southern tour. The region offers many food-themed tours full of humor, history and deliciousness that offer more than the typical Southern fare. These tours feature dishes that combine traditional Southern elements with modern culinary innovations that surprise and delight restaurant patrons.

GROUPS CAN ENJOY FR ES H CRAB CLAWS AN D OTH ER GU LF COAST DELICACI ES ON TH E M ISSISSI PPI S EAFOO D TRAI L .

Courtesy Mississippi Tourism

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go SOUTH

Bham Eat Drink Ride Food Tour

BRING FRIENDS

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA

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hen viewers watched Comedienne Joy take a bite out of the most talked about new dish in Birmingham, Alabama, they quickly developed food envy. Cassandra King, aka Comedienne Joy, developed a foodie following on her restaurant show “Dining Out With Comedienne Joy” on Talk Alabama’s TV program. After hearing person after person express a desire to eat like her, she developed a food tour that invited guests to dine at some of her favorite restaurants.

The Bham Eat Drink Ride Food Tour incorporates King’s hilarious comedy into an informative tour of Birmingham’s culinary hot spots. Her typical four-hour tour stops at four or five restaurants, though she personalizes tours for private groups.

The goal isn’t to show groups the same five places but, rather, to introduce participants to hidden restaurant gems. One tour might include hamburgers, Mexican food, cocktails, dessert and her personal favorite: fried chicken.

“The guests come to have fun,” King said. “I love to take people around. They don’t know where they are going. I like to make it not just some great food, but to try something different.”

For example, the tour might stop at a boutique liquor store for unusual adult beverages and shopping.

At a local ice cream shop, participants can watch the storeowners make the ice cream before eating it.

The self-described “Queen of Clean” not only hosts a TV show but also focuses on food on her video blog.

Her background in comedy means that although her

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tours center around tasty dishes, they also leave guests rolling with laughter.

Entertained groups keep coming back for more, which is why King recently purchased a second bus for tours. She also plans to expand the business to include a civil rights tour in February.

DININGOUTWITHCOMEDIENNEJOY.COM

Ellijay Wine Country GILMER COUNTY, GEORGIA

V

isitors never hurry through a winery. Instead, they slow down to sip wine, chat and take in the views. Georgia’s Appalachian Mountains provide the scenic backdrop for the five wineries in Ellijay Wine Country.

Groups can explore the vineyards and sample the fine wines at the following local wineries, each just an hour’s drive north of Atlanta in Gilmer County and Pickens County.

The Cartecay Vineyards in Ellijay incorporates more than delicious wines into its experience. Groups can take in the vineyard’s laid-back vibe by listening to live music on the outdoor patio. The site’s 1890s refurbished Tasting Barn can warm a chilly night with its wood-fired stove.

Not far off, the Engelheim Vineyards celebrates the owners’ German heritage, since the name means “Angel Home” in German. Owner Gary Engel leads tours through the winery to reveal its winemaking process, and then participants retire to a lovely tasting room for a variety of wine samples. Wine-pairing classes also help

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ELLIJAY WI N E COU NTRY OFFERS DELIGHTFU L GROUP EXPERI ENCES AT FIVE WI N ERI ES I N NORTH G EORGIA .

Courtesy Wilmer COC

WI N E TASTI NG I N G EORGIA Courtesy Wilmer COC

WWW. T R A V E L S O U T HU S A . CO M

BHAM EAT DRI NK RI DE FOO D TOU R

By A. Bozwell, courtesy Comedienne Joy

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TOURS START AT 9 AM

A TR EAT ON TH E CAJ U N BOU DI N TRAI L

By Lucius Fontenot, courtesy Lafayette CVB

a well

guests leave as wine pros. Groups can also book a winepairing dinner.

Travelers can take in a breath of fresh mountain air at Chateau Meichtry in Talking Rock, Georgia. The family-owned vineyard offers panoramic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains while exploring the vineyard, the winery and the tasting room, since all the vineyard’s wine is bottled on-site. Guided tours, live music and tastings can also fill an evening at the vineyard.

With a focus on French wine, the Fainting Goat Vineyard serves a range of full-bodied reds, fruity whites and sweet blends. True to the name, the vineyard keeps goats on-site that visitors can pet and play with. Lawn games, mountain views, live music and coffee tastings add to the experience.

crafted experience

ELLIJAYWINECOUNTRY.COM

Cajun Boudin Trail LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA

To experience authentic Kentucky, spend a day in ShelbyKY for stables, tables and designer labels.

You will wish you planned for a few more days.

P

ronounced “boo-DAN,” Louisiana’s sausage specialty incites controversy about the best way to prepare and cook it. Groups can form their own opinions on the state’s Cajun Boudin Trail.

Lafayette is a great place to start the trail, since it boasts a long love affair with the regional dish. Lafayette holds the annual Boudin Cookoff in October where chefs show off their version of the combination of cooked rice, pork, onions, green peppers and seasonings.

To make boudin, chefs run their ingredients through a meat grinder before stuffing it into a sausage casing. Though those are the basics, each recipe is a variation on those foundational ingredients. Groups can sample boudin balls, smoked boudin or seafood boudin at the cookoff event and throughout the year at restaurants and meat shops. Travelers can even take boudin back home with them, since many shops on the trail sell

See what you’re missing at VisitShelbyKY.com

SHELBYVILLE . SIMPSONVILLE . KY Located between Louisville and Lexington.

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boudin in frozen packs with little travel coolers.

Boudin’s roots go back to the French “boucherie,” a communal hog slaughter where every portion of the animal would be used. The links of meat produced from those gatherings became known as boudin.

The staple Cajun finger food can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner or all three. To decide which version of boudin to choose, trip planners can consult boudinlink.com, a comprehensive guide to all the boudin in the state. Over 125 reviews, a map and suggestions help groups plan mouth-watering boudin itineraries.

One favorite stop, Don’s Specialty Meats, sells over 700,000 pounds of boudin a year. Boudin burritos, boudin tater tots and more variations prove the versatility of the Cajun classic.

M ENAR D’S CAJ U N GROCERY, A STOP ON TH E CAJ U N BOU DI N TRAI L

By Lucius Fontenot, courtesy Lafayette CVB

CAJUNBOUDINTRAIL.COM LAFAYETTETRAVEL.COM

“It went from a hobby to a full-time business. We now have 20 tour guides and nine different cities throughout North Carolina.”

— LESLEY STRACKS-MULLEMS, TASTE CAROLINA GOURMET FOOD TOURS

Courtesy Myrtle Beach Family Golf

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Taste Carolina Gourmet Food Tours

TASTE CARO LI NA GOU RM ET FOO D TOU RS

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA

E

leven years ago, Lesley Stracks-Mullem’s foodie brother-in-law paid her a visit in Durham, North Carolina. She planned an elaborate barbecue tour all over western North Carolina to ensure he tasted the best the region had to offer.

“It was as much fun for me to plan as it was for him to do,” said Stracks-Mullem, owner and co-founder of Taste Carolina. “I thought maybe there might be a market there. It turns out there was.”

Stracks-Mullem started Taste Carolina during the recession at a time when she couldn’t find a job after graduate school.

“It went from a hobby to a full-time business,” said Stracks-Mullem. “We now have 20 tour guides and nine different cities throughout North Carolina.”

The company offers walking tours of North Carolina in Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Wilmington, Charlotte A CU LI NARY and Asheville. The tours focus on locally owned, farmTOU R I N to-table eating and drinking establishments.

DU R HAM At each stop, participants talk with chefs, learn about the history of the restaurant and enjoy food and drink.

Photos courtesy Taste Carolina Gourmet Food Tours Tour guides also reveal the history, architecture and culinary landscape of the city in a laid-back, social afternoon or evening out.

Celebrate, discover, and explore the Though weekend tours are open to Cane River Creole culture along the “Nack-A-Tish” the public, custom tours can be arranged Cane River National Heritage Area Trail. for any day or evening for groups of at least eight. Each tour lasts about three hours, with five to seven tastings. Participants should expect to be full by the end.

Groups can include drink stops.

Breweries or craft cocktails are frequently incorporated into tours at several of the cities. Alternative drinks are available for participants who don’t drink alcohol.

TASTECAROLINA.NET

OLDEST CITY

A FU N DAY OF FOO D TOU RS I N NORTH CARO LI NA

800-259-1714 • www.Natchitoches.com 34

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VisitNOPC.com

Architecture is living art

out here.

I t ’s e a s y f o r y o u r g r o u p t o f e e l s w e p t a w a y b y t h e a r c h i t e c t u r e a s i t i s t h e c o l o r f u l c u l t u r e t h a t ’s i n s p i r e d b y t h e v e r y p e o p l e w h o c a l l L o u i s i a n a’s River Parishes home.

Explore our architecture on YouTube

Watch “An Architectural Gumbo #OutHere” to learn about our region.

Mississippi Seafood Trail MISSISSIPPI’S GULF COAST

F

reshly caught wild seafood has a flavor like none other. To highlight the superiority of the seafood caught off the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the Mississippi Hospitality and Restaurant Association (MHRA) created the Mississippi Seafood Trail.

“I don’t believe there is any finer seafood in the world,” said Pat Fontaine, executive director of MHRA. “We have some talented chefs throughout our state preparing seafood. Mississippi has won many national seafood competitions.”

Over 100 participating restaurants across the state offer a variety of items. To qualify, restaurants must offer at least one wild-caught seafood dish from the Gulf. Everything from po’boy shops to traditional seafood restaurants participate to honor the state’s high-quality seafood.

“When it comes to Gulf seafood, there is such variety,” said Fontaine. “Trying to make the decision of what to eat depends on whether you are looking for great fish, crab, oysters or something else. All along the coast you are going to experience all different types of seafood prepared in any way imaginable.”

Planners can find their quality local seafood for their groups using the trail’s website and app. Both include a map, driving directions, phone numbers and other useful planning information.

App users are encouraged to upload their own seafood photos or relate their experience with an audio recording feature.

Group planners can also encourage their travelers to use the trail’s app to find local seafood when dining on their own. Biloxi, especially, features a plethora of dining options on the trail, several of which lie in walking distance of each other.

FR ES H CATCH ES ON TH E M ISSISSI PPI S EAFOO D TRAI L

Photos courtesy MS Tourism

field

tle d Bat n o m h Ric

MISSISSIPPISEAFOODTRAIL.COM

ough Fort Boonesbor WI N E AN D OYSTERS I N M ISSISSI PPI

White Hall Sta te Park

RICHMOND where history meets hospitality

RICHMONDKYTOURISM.COM

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Booming Breweries

New

Cra f t beer is g row i ng in popularit y across Louisiana, and a number of new brewer ies have opened in different parts LOUISIANA of the state. Flying Tiger Brewery in Monroe honors hometown hero Gen. Claire Chennault, an aviation pioneer who led the Flying Tigers squadron. In Natchitoches, the new Cane River Brewing is housed in a refurbished cotton gin.

A nd Bayou Teche Brewing in A rnaudville makes beers to complement Louisiana cuisine.

LIBATIONS.LOUISIANATRAVEL.COM/BREWERIES

SOUTH

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SWEET SAM PLES ON A FOOTH I LL FOO DI E TOU RS Photos courtesy Foothill Foodie Tours

Foothill Foodie Tours

GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA

R

aised on handmade spaghetti by her Italian family, Rose Woelker developed a sophisticated palate at a young age. After a career in Detroit, as an executive assistant and owner of a wedding consultant business, Woelker was familiar also with the art of organization. Once she moved to Greenville, South Carolina,

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GOOD TIMES ARE INEVITABLE

BRING YOUR GROUP TOUR TO LIFE. Hands-on experiences and uncommon access offered exclusively for groups.

Plan your group’s Live the Life Adventure at VisitVirginiaBeach.com/GroupTour.

Heaven Hill Bourbon Heritage Center Bardstown is one of the top bourbon-producing destinations in a state known for the spirit, and groups visiting the area will f ind new visitor experiences awaiting them at the Heaven Hill Bourbon Heritage Center. The visitor center recently completed the f irst phase of a multimillion-dollar expansion and renovation project that added three new tasting rooms. The renovation also brought a new retail area designed to feel like a home kitchen and living room.

HEAVENHILLDISTILLERY.COM

COCKTAI LS AN D FRI ES I N GR EENVI LLE

TASTING MACARONS WITH FOOTHILL FOODIE TOURS Photos courtesy Foothill Foodie Tours

NASA Visitor Center

New SOUTH

KENTUCKY

she decided to put her two skills together to open Foothill Foodie Tours in 2018.

These tours don’t stop at the predictable restaurants in Greenville. Instead, Woelker wanted to expose guests to the hidden, local gems of the city, easy to find because of Greenville’s cuisine scene explosion.

The tour generally stops at four venues, each promoting a specialty. Tours run at various times for different experiences. The breakfast tour stops at breakfast eateries, including a crepe restaurant for a strawberrycovered crepe.

“Our dessert tours feature madefrom-scratch European desserts and homemade pastries,” Woelker said. “We also have a tour on Wednesdays that is called Lunch With the Artists. While we eat lunch, we can talk with a local artist one-on-one, then have dessert somewhere together.”

Each tour features chats with either chefs or restaurant owners. Woelker incorporates the city’s long-reaching history into the tour, including its recent growth in locally owned businesses.

Groups looking to soak in the city’s nightlife can opt for the Vine, Shine and Stein tour for a drinking adventure of wine tastings, moonshine and craft beer samplings. On the similar Craft Cocktail Tour, participants embark on a sophisticated evening of drinks and hors d’oeuvres.

FOOTHILLFOODIETOURS.COM

See the world’s largest collection of space artifacts and explore the fascinating future of space travel!

Looking to stay a bit longer? Sign up for an inspiring experience at Space Camp! Two- to six-day Camps are available for all ages: children, families, adults and corporate groups.

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Huntsville, Alabama • (800) 637-7223 www.rocketcenter.com

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Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

Stonewall Lake & Resort

Jackson’s Mill Farmstead

Asylum operated as a mental

the scenic Stonewall Jackson Lake

steadfast place of learning,

health facility for 130 years.

with breathtaking views from the

leadership and growth for more

Visitors can enjoy daily walk-in

Adirondack-style lodge or quiet

than 90 years. Famous as General

historic and paranormal tours,

lakefront cottages. Enjoy an

“Stonewall” Jackson’s homestead,

festivals and events from

irresistible meal, play the Arnold

the old gristmill still stands. This

April through November.

Palmer Signature golf course,

is an important arena for adult

pamper yourself at the spa, hike

education, special events and

the trails or play on the lake.

meetings—and the State 4-H camp.

The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic

This luxury resort is located on

This historic area has been a

V I SI T U S ONLI NE O R CALL TO DAY FOR YO UR FREE L E W I S COU NT Y, WE ST VIRGINIA TRAV EL GUIDE

WV Museum of American Glass

Mountaineer Military Museum

region and nation’s rich glass

into their country’s service and

heritage. The stories of people and

only one made it home.

processes come to life! See a huge

A graveside promise was made

collection of brilliant colored and

that “I’ll never let anyone forget

sparkling crystal glass by dozens

you guys.” More than 18 new

of American manufacturers from

exhibits, feature personal and

1860 to the present.

historical items from the Civil War

The museum is dedicated to the

Childhood friends were drafted

to current day.

Appalachian Glass Appalachian Glass is keeping the

tradition of hand made glass alive in West Virginia with offerings of over 500 traditionally produced soda-lime crystal products. Their studio is open to the public for shopping and to enjoy live demonstrations.

STONEWALLCOUNTRY.COM 304-269-7328

Lambert’s Winery Nestled in the heart of West

Virginia is a winery whose beauty is almost as exquisite as the fine selection of wines. The winery’s magnificent tasting room is constructed from hand cut stones gathered from various parts of the state. Tour the beautifully landscaped grounds and browse their gift shop.

MannCave Distilling

With the development of three artesian water springs, the distillery was unearthed out of hand dug coal mines. The smooth, award-winning, top shelf spirits (whiskey, vodka and moonshine) are produced and sold onsite.

Tours and tastings are available on Saturdays.

T HAT

MIC’S

hot MUSIC RISES LIKE HEAT IN THE SOUTH

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BY ELIZA MYERS

T

he music of the South isn’t hard to find.

Anyone who comes with their ears open can easily find Southern musicians playing guitars, banjos and even unexpected instruments like bagpipes.

The South boasts a tradition of embracing and combining all kinds of music to create new sounds. Much of America’s signature music, such as blues, bluegrass, gospel and country, originated south of the Mason-Dixon line.

Instead of a monument to the past, Southern music is a vital part of the present. Groups wanting a closer look at Southern heritage can go straight to its heartbeat through a music experience.

GROUPS CAN WATCH SONGS B EI NG R ECOR DED LIVE AT I MAGI N E R ECOR DI NGS I N NAS HVI LLE .

Courtesy Imagine Recordings

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Fame Recording Studios

BRING FRIENDS

MUSCLE SHOALS, ALABAMA

T

hose walking past Fame Recording Studios might not have any idea they’re standing near hallowed ground. Inside the former tobacco warehouse in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Fame Recording Studios produced 3,000 songs with multiple top-10 singles and Song of the Year awards.

“It looks very much like it did in the 1970s,” said Rodney Hall, co-owner and publisher at Fame Recording Studios. “One of the most fascinating things about the building is that it is an average building but all of this amazing music came out of it.”

Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones, Little Richard, Etta James, Alabama, the Osmonds and other top artists have recorded hits inside the studio. Duane Allman, later of the Allman Brothers Band, once camped out in the studio’s parking lot just to be near the recording sessions before he became famous.

Groups can tour Fame Recording Studios to try to understand why so many artists traveled to the small Alabama town to create music. A lot of credit is given to the founder, Rick Hall, who developed the famed house band, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. His ability to nurture talented songwriters led to the studio’s description as the “heartbeat of the Muscle Shoals sound.”

Tour guides tell stories from Fame Recording Studios’ fascinating history, play hits recorded in the building and allow time to examine the recording room, awards and other memorabilia. The 45-minute tour can accommodate up to 70 people.

The studio’s gift shop offers music-related mer-

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chandise, including a recently recorded album, “Muscle Shoals: Small Town, Big Sound,” which features singers like Steven Tyler, Willie Nelson and Demi Lovato performing some of the studio’s smash hits for a new generation to enjoy.

FAMESTUDIOS.COM

Ozark Folk Center State Park

MOUNTAIN VIEW, ARKANSAS

W

hile listeners tap their feet, Ozark Mountains musicians’ fingers fly on fiddles, banjos, guitars, mandolins and dulcimers. Visitors can still hear the traditional music of the area thanks to locals who wanted to preserve Ozark Mountains culture. They banded together to open the Ozark Folk Center State Park in 1973.

Today, groups can hear the traditional acoustic music and pre-World War II songs at regular performances at the folk center.

“Music is a big part of what we do here,” said Daren Dortin, executive producer of Ozark Highlands Radio and music director for the Ozark Folk Center State Park. “One of the neat things about listening to a concert here is that folks get to experience an intimate performance. It’s a smaller venue, and the artists are performing strictly acoustically. It’s a great venue for folks to ask questions and visit with the musicians. You can even make song requests.”

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TH E FAM E STU DIOS R ECOR DI NG CONSO LE

A STRI NG OF H ITS ON DIS PLAY AT FAM E STU DIOS

ETTA JAM ES R ECOR DI NG I N M USCLE S HOALS

ALABAMA’S FAM E R ECOR DI NG STU DIOS Photos courtesy Fame Recording Studios

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LIVE M USIC I N TH E CRAFT VI LLAG E AT OZARK FO LK CENTER

GUM BO FESTIVAL ARKANSAS’ OZARK AT ATCHAFALAYA H IGH LAN DS NATIONAL TH EATER H ERITAG E AR EA

A LOCAL SI NG ER I N MOU NTAI N VI EW Photos courtesy AR Tourism

From mid-April to mid-November, the living-history park offers regularly scheduled live performances in its 1,000-seat theater. Groups can also participate in “Ozark Highlands Radio,” a syndicated program recorded at the park that shares the music and stories of the Ozark region.

The park’s American Roots Music Series provides a taste of music from the past from places beyond the Ozarks, such as Cajun, blues, Irish Celtic and cowboy tunes. For a hands-on experience, groups can also book a workshop to develop their musical talent.

Beyond music, the Ozark Folk Center State Park offers a crafts village with

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In the wake of Japan’s attack, American soldiers marched into battle while citizens rallied on the Home Front. In ration lines and victory gardens and factories across the United States, they built an Arsenal of Democracy. Experience how the Home Front supported the front lines and helped win the war—at The Arsenal of Democracy, a permanent exhibit at The National WWII Museum.

#1 Attraction in New Orleans #3 Museum in the United States #8 Museum in the World

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945 MAGAZINE STREET, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70130 504-528-1944 x 222 | NATIONALWW2MUSEUM.ORG/GROUPS

let your

BUCK AN D JOH N NY’S ZYDECO BR EAKFAST

imagination run wild.

Courtesy Buck and Johnny’s

more than 21 artisans demonstrating regional crafts such as basket weaving, broom-making, yarn spinning, doll-making and more.

The park sits on 637 acres that include a restaurant, a 60-room lodge, a gift shop and Loco Ropes Treetop Adventure Park.

ARKANSASSTATEPARKS.COM

Buck and Johnny’s Zydeco Breakfast BREAUX BRIDGE, LOUISIANA

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roups can start the day by putting on their dancing shoes at Buck and Johnny’s Zydeco Breakfast in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Lively zydeco music draws a line of customers waiting each Saturday morning to enter Buck and Johnny’s.

“Everybody in the place has a smile on their face,” said co-owner Coatney Raymond. “It’s such a great representation of our culture.

It is zydeco music at its best. It will put you in the best spirits you could ever imagine.”

The eclectic Italian restaurant with a Cajun flair offers an interesting mix of cultures. Cajun flavors especially inspired

Known as North Carolina’s Southern Outer Banks, the Crystal Coast has inspired world renowned authors such as Nicholas Sparks and Kristy Harvey. Let us inspire you with help planning events, selecting outstanding accommodations and making your experience our top priority. We’ll make sure everything is perfect so you can focus on making memories, enjoying our beautiful beaches, unique activities and natural beauty.

Call us at 1-888-891-0021 or email groups@CrystalCoastNC.org

BookTheCoast.com

the breakfast menu, with popular items including a boudin-stuffed omelet, grilled boudin or crawfish etouffee grits.

The restaurant normally hosts more than 200 people for each zydeco breakfast event. Groups can arrive at 8 a.m. to ensure seating in the often-crowded venue.

Many diners end up shimmying and swaying on the dance floor while the zydeco musicians play traditional instruments like the washboard and the accordion.

Diners can also order bottomless mimosas or Bloody Marys to go with the festive breakfast.

Located in the old Domingue’s Motors, Buck and Johnny’s maintains much of the building’s original decor with old tin signage, oil can light fixtures and exposed brick walls. The family-owned restaurant also offers live music in the evenings Wednesday through Saturday.

BUCKANDJOHNNYS.COM

Imagine Recordings NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

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teve Fishell is no stranger to talent. He built a career working as a musician and record producer with stars including Little Richard, Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt. He uses his ability to recognize and curate talent for Imagine Recordings, a working recording studio in Nashville, Tennessee.

Groups of up to 50 people can go beyond a studio tour by watching a song come to life at a recording session. Real artists come in with a new song ready to play.

Then after 80 minutes in the studio, the song becomes a fully realized recording that may end up as tomorrow’s next big hit.

“You can watch that moment of creativity when a

AN I MAGI N E R ECOR DI NGS SONGWRITI NG S ESSION

Photos courtesy Imagine Recordings

& w e n L L a

D e z I S KIng

Experience raceland Elvis Presley’s G never before. in Memphis like ttractions.

There are more a es.

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More live events r, taste, More to see, hea ever before. and explore than

M O C .

D N A L E C A R G800-238-2000 | MEMPHIS, TN

© EPE. Graceland and its marks are trademarks of EPE. All Rights Reserved. Elvis Presley™ © 2019 ABG EPE IP LLC

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AMERICAN REVOLUTION MUSEUM AT YORKTOWN

Plan your trip today.

historyisfun.org

song becomes a new track,” said Fishell, co-president of Imagine Recordings. “It’s exhilarating. We all love music, yet few of us have the opportunity to see how it is created today. In Nashville’s Music Row, there are dozens of top studios with nondescript fronts that give no clue as to what’s happening inside. We wanted to pull back that curtain from that inner sanctum to let people observe the whole thing.”

Imagine Recordings has recorded over 500 hit country songs. It continues to draw emerging artists and wellknown country musicians such as George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood and Blake Shelton.

Groups can learn about the importance of the studio to Nashville’s music scene before meeting the artist.

A CHOI R S ESSION AT I MAGI N E R ECOR DI NGS

“You can watch that moment of creativity when a song becomes a new track.” — STEVE FISHELL, IMAGINE RECORDINGS

S T A Y L A F AY E T T E 800 346 1958

Lafayette is at the heart of Louisiana’s Cajun & Creole Country, an area known for its award winning cuisine served with a side of live Cajun and Zydeco music. It’s no wonder people are heading down south with a smile on their face to experience a culture like no other.

Plan your escape to the Happiest City in America.

LafayetteTravel.com/Groups

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One of auto racing’s most famous tracks is in the midst of an improvement project. In 2018, Talladega Superspeedway started a renovation to improve the fan experience. Highlights include new park ing garages and a new inf ield fan zone that will allow racegoers to see the action closer than ever before. The new facilities were unveiled last spring during a celebration of Talladega Superspeedway’s 50th anniversary.

TALLADEGASUPERSPEEDWAY.COM

SOUTH ALABAMA

They then listen behind the glass with headphones or in the control room for a behind-the-scenes look at the technical side of the music magic. After the session, participants each receive a recording of the song.

“It gives people the feeling that this is not just a cold, four-walled studio,” said Fishell. “It has a soul and a vibe. We always record a new song. This is not a cover song. We are doing the real thing. That is always interesting for people.”

Imagine Recordings also organizes teambuilding programs where groups work with a songwriter to pen a new track and then help perform.

A NIGHT OF B LU ES AT R ED’S I N CLARKS DALE

IMAGINERECORDINGS.COM Courtesy Visit Clarksdale

O F F TH E E AT I N P R E D AT H N A W

The journey to an unforgettable dining experience begins when you venture a

authentic Cajun communities. Your groups can discover generations of unique

events on the Cajun Bayou Food Trail, just 45 minutes south of New Orleans.

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Clarksdale Live Music

CLARKSDALE, MISSISSIPPI

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ccording to legend, Robert Johnson’s early guitar playing made listeners want to cover their ears. After a supposedly making a deal with the devil at the Crossroads in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Johnson returned with a new musical style.

Touted as the birthplace of the blues, Clarksdale has raised many of the most well-known blues artists, such as John Lee Hooker, Ike Turner, Sam Cooke, Muddy Waters and Johnson. Visitors can’t fully understand the small country town’s roots until they show up at one of the town’s many nightly blues concerts or festivals.

Groups can first learn about the Delta region’s blues artists at the Delta Blues Museum. The interactive museum sits next to one of the most famous blues joints in the world: the Ground Zero Blues Club.

Founded by Bill Luckett and Academy Award-winner Morgan Freeman, the blues club draws fans from around the world.

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Named because of Clarksdale’s reputation as ground zero for blues music, the venue opened its doors in 2001. Groups can attend authentic blues performances and occasional national acts Wednesdays through Saturdays. Most performers continue the tradition of blues forefathers Charley Patton, Waters and John Lee Hooker.

Ground Zero Blues Club also serves Southern food, such as grilled catfish, fried pickles and Delta hot tamales.

Beyond the popular club, Clarksdale offers several other blues venues and festivals. Visitors can find live blues music in the city 365 days a year. The Hambone Gallery combines art with music on Tuesday nights. Stan Street painted Cajun chefs, bluesmen and red-haired women in his colorful portraits. Guests can learn about the local artist, then listen to the music that inspired the work.

Other authentic juke joints in the area are Red’s Blues Club, the Hopson Plantation and Commissary, and the Juke Joint Chapel at the Shack Up Inn. VISITCLARKSDALE.COM

MISSISSIPPI MUSIC

SOUTHERN CHARM

Mountain Stage

CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA

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n two hours, a listening experience at Mountain Stage in Charleston, West Virginia, might include a bluegrass band, Scottish performers, pop hits, African beats and country songs. The live music radio show first aired in 1983 to showcase diverse music from traditional to modern. The show still celebrates new and known music by offering five artists opportunities to perform in 20-minutes sets.

Groups can attend one of these shows for a superb listening experience.

Episodes play every week on more than 240 National Public Radio stations across America. Twenty-six episodes are recorded each year, mostly at Charleston’s Culture Center Theater.

Over the years, the show has featured many artists before and after fame, including Sarah McLachlan, Barenaked Ladies, Nickel Creek and R.E.M. One memorable performance was when Martina McBride asked to perform on Mountain Stage after she was already widely popular.

“When Martina McBride came, she asked what we wanted her to play,” said Larry Groce, co-founder and artistic director for Mountain Stage. “I told her our philosophy is that you can play whatever you want to play. So in the middle of her set, she said, ‘This is a radio show like no other. They want you to play the music you love.’

That is exactly what we want.”

Tours can be arranged to learn about the history of the show and the behind-thescenes work that goes into each performance. Groce will also talk about the careful considerations that go into organizing a show featuring all musical genres.

“I get pitched a lot of people,” he said. “We hear from agents, record companies and individual artists. On the other hand, we are doing research about people who might not be coming to us. Because there are so many music genres, the pool of people we can choose from is very wide and very deep. It is a juggling act of looking for acts you want.”

MOUNTAINSTAGE.ORG

For planning assistance contact,

Ashley Gatian, Sales Manager

800-221-3536 • ashley@visitvicksburg.com

ROB ERT RAN DO LPH AN D TH E FAM I LY BAN D AT MOU NTAI N STAG E

W E A R E S O C I A L \VisitVicksburg

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Scan this QR code to visit our mobile site.

By Brian Blauser, courtesy Mountain Stage

The world’s largest

MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM IS JUST A DOWNSHIFT FROM DOWNTOWN.

Standing amidst the largest motorcycle collection in the world, it’s impossible not to feel the energy. More than 1,600 vintage and modern bikes and race cars from all over the world dating back to 1901, all housed in a towering, awe-inspiring museum, are proof of a city that’s running wide open. Dig in to everything the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum has to offer, right here at The Dinner Table of the South. inbirmingham.com/GTL1 | 800 - 458 - 8085

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Take Your Tour

Over the Top

Missouri’s most iconic attraction has reached new heights.

Renovations to the Gateway Arch – including an updated museum, new parks and trails, and more – have transformed the Arch into a completely different experience. But that’s just part of what’s exciting and new in the Show-Me State.

Let us show you what else makes Missouri a top stop for your group tours.

Contact Donna Cordle Gray at DonnaCordle@legacydimensions.com for group info.

SET YOUR SIGHTS ON THE SHOW-ME STATE New attractions and favorite places make Missouri a top travel spot in 2020

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trip to Missouri in 2020 promises a perfect mix of exciting new attractions and perennial favorites that keep getting better year after year.

The new St. Louis Aquarium will take you from the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers to the depths of the deep blue sea. The aquarium and other new attractions have transformed historic St. Louis Union Station – once the biggest and busiest train terminal in the nation – into the state’s newest entertainment complex. Just outside the aquarium, hop aboard The St. Louis Wheel for a gondola ride 200 feet into the sky.

A new aquarium will add to Branson’s mix of family friendly attractions in the coming year. Set to open in summer 2020, the Aquarium at the Boardwalk will focus on fish and fun. A giant octopus sculpture will greet you when you arrive, and a “submarine voyage” and mermaid palace will feature tales from oceans around the world.

The Wonders of Wildlife National Wildlife Museum and Aquarium in Springfield continues to wow visitors with new exhibits and experiences from the earth’s most extreme wildlife habitats – on land and sea. Meet the two-toed sloth and two tiny marmosets, who joined the Wonders of Wildlife animal family in 2019.

Wineries have long been a favorite in Missouri despite a historic bump in the road. 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of Prohibition, which curtailed wine production across the country for more than a decade. Today, the Show-Me State is home to more than 130 wineries, including Stone Hill Winery in the picturesque town of Hermann and Chaumette Vineyards & Winery near Ste. Genevieve, settled by the French in the early 1700s.

Travel one of 11 wine trails along river bluffs and rolling hills to savor the grape and scenic views.

Distilleries are also flourishing in the state. Tour J. Reiger & Co. in Kansas City to learn how the company, founded in 1887, reopened nearly 100 years after closing its doors during the dawn of Prohibition. Follow the Missouri Spirits Expedition distillery trail to find more than a dozen craft distillers at work.

When the holiday season arrives in Missouri, visitors flock to Branson for an Ozark Mountain Christmas. That tradition continues to grow with dozens of special holiday shows and attractions.

Silver Dollar City sparkles during its Old Time Country Christmas celebration featuring more than 6.5 million lights and a new eightstory Christmas tree that towers over the town square.

From amazing aquariums to award-winning wineries to spectacular holiday sights, the Show-Me State offers an array of awe-inspiring adventures all year long.

OUR STAGE IS PERFECT FOR GROUPS TO PLAY See for yourself why Branson, MO should be your next group travel destination.

Learn more about Branson’s 12th Annual Professional Travel Planner FAM Tour | April-21-24, 2020 Contact Lenni Neimeyer, CTIS, CSTP at lneimeyer@bransoncvb.com.

417-243-2105

Oct 16 at 8pm

Apr 17,18 Sept 23,24, 30 Oct 1,7,8,14,15,21,22 Nov 4,5,11,12,18,19 • 8pm

Oct 1, 22 Nov 11 at 3pm Nov 10 at 8pm

Sept 24 Oct 8, 15 Nov 12 at 3pm Nov 6 at 8pm

Oct 11 at 7pm

Oct 24 at 8pm

Oct 23 • Nov 7 • 8pm

For Concert Dates and Times Visit TheMansionTheatre.com or call 417-335-2000

so close you can feel it Feel the vibe and proximately of the big city. Feel the roots of history and the legacy this area holds. Feel the hospitality of a hometown, even if it’s not your own.

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A $24 M I LLION EXPANSION ADDED A DRAMATIC G LASS ENTRANCE AN D LOTS OF EXH I BIT S PACE TO TH E AS H E VI LLE ART M US EUM .

BY J I LL G LEESON

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long with incredible food, a thriving cultural scene and epic natural resources, the South is famed for its laid-back, slow-and-steady attitude. But if Southerners take time to smell the roses, they sure don’t rest on their laurels, at least not judging from the wealth of new and revamped attractions popping up all over the South.

Whether it’s the debut of a destination with state-ofthe-art storytelling or a bold update to an iconic institution, these landmarks are must-see stops on any tour of the Southern states.

By David Huff, courtesy Asheville Art Museum

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go SOUTH

National Museum of the United States Army

BRING FRIENDS

FORT BELVOIR, VIRGINIA

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t’s been a long wait, but the National Museum of the United States Army is almost open. Set to debut on June 4, 2020, the institution was first envisioned by Congress some two centuries ago when representatives asked the armed forces branch to create a place dedicated to chronicling its history. The 185,000-square-foot National Museum of the United States Army will be the country’s only institution that traces the narrative of the Army from its start to the present day, a feat the museum will accomplish by focusing on the stories of individual soldiers.

“It’s meaningful to us working at the museum that everything goes back to the soldier,” said Susan Smullen, the museum’s public affairs officer. “The visitor is always reminded that there might have been this historic occasion, but it always links back to the human element.”

Less than a half-hour outside Washington, D.C., the museum will feature thousands of documents, images and artifacts, including showstopping items in six galleries, like a 27-ton Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicle. A cutting-edge Experiential Learning Center will allow group members to find solutions to issues that face soldiers through hands-on exercises. For example, group members might have the chance to diagnose a virtual patient’s medical condition or build a virtual bridge in the engineering station.

Smullen has yet to officially announce offerings for groups, but bet on them to include after-hours experiences and packages bundling together things like

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tickets to the Army Action Center simulation gallery, lunch passes and retail vouchers. The museum is free but will require a timed ticket to enter, and there will be a cost for some special features.

ARMYHISTORY.ORG

Churchill Downs LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY

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n all the world, there is no horse racing track as legendary as Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby. To ensure that this jewel, which turns 145 years old in 2020, continues to sparkle as brightly as ever, renovations to the facility occur frequently. In late 2018, just before the Breeders’ Cup, workers wrapped up more than $30 million of remodeling that added features like a pedestrian plaza; a revamped paddock entrance; and a new transportation infrastructure, most notably featuring a bigger, more user-friendly bus depot.

That’s great news for groups, but Churchill isn’t stopping there. It was announced at the end of October that the racetrack was about to embark on an audacious $300 million project that will include the addition of a permanent covered stadium, a historical gaming facility and a seven-story hotel on the first turn of the track.

“The rooms will have balconies facing the racetrack so you can watch the horses while you have your morning coffee,” said Jordan Skora, Louisville Tourism marketing communications manager. “That’s an experience nowhere else in the world offers.”

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NATIONAL M US EUM OF TH E U NITED STATES ARMY Courtesy U.S. Army

KENTUCKY DER BY M US EUM

CH U RCH I LL DOWNS I N LOUISVI LLE Photos courtesy Louisville Tourism

Explore a 3,000-acre D es t i na t i o n

SHAKER VILLAGE OF PLEASANT HILL

KY’s First Town Rocks Its Pioneer Heritage!

OLD FORT HARROD STATE PARK & SUMMER OUTDOOR THEATRE

BEAUMONT INN

EXPERIENCE ~

Group-friendly activities & adventures with over 300 affordable rooms just minutes SW of Lexington.

• Award-winning downtown • Beaumont Inn • Bright Leaf Golf Resort • Dixie Belle Riverboat • Dedman’s Drugstore • Lemons Mill Brewery • McAfee Jamboree • Unique Shopping/Dining • Year-round arts, cultural & music events

www.HarrodsburgKY.com • 800-355-9192

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EXH I BITS AT S PRI NGFI ELD’S N EW H ISTORY M US EUM ON TH E SQ UAR E Photos by Henderson Images, courtesy History Museum on the Square

History Museum on the Square

The project is slated to wrap up at the end of 2021, but there are always plenty of special experiences available for groups at Churchill Downs, like the popular Backstretch Breakfast Tour, which features a railside morning meal with a view of the horses’ workouts. Live racing group packages are also offered, including one for Derby Day. Tours should be booked through the Kentucky Derby Museum, on the grounds of Churchill Downs.

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here was never any doubt that Springfield’s new history museum needed to be located on Springfield’s public square.

“Our front door leads directly to so many historic CHURCHILLDOWNS.COM sites,” said Krista Adams, the History Museum on the DERBYMUSEUM.ORG Square’s director of development. “The Trail of Tears passed through the square.

The Butterfield Overland stage line, one of the first that traveled west, started in St. Louis, and we were the first stop west.

We had Civil War encampments from the two battles that occurred in Springfield, and we’re also the site of the very first Wild West shootout. Wild Bill Hickok and Davis Tutt had a shootout right outside our front doors.”

GET THE MOST FOR YOUR GROUP The History Museum on the Square memorializes these events and more For more information on incentives for you and your group or to with an interactive facility that uses the very latest technology to immerse book your group, call toll free 1-877-778-8138 groups in the city’s colorful past. For email: CheMotorcoachTm@caesars.com example, the Birthplace of Route 66 gallery offers not only retro neon signs and a working jukebox from 1947, but also a hands-on experience that allows visitors to drive down a screen version of the famed road, complete with engine noise and horn honks. Springfield, which is CHEROKEE, NC on the famed roadway, is responsible for MURPHY, NC giving it its name. Other galleries feature Must be 21 or older to enter casino floor and to gamble, and must present a valid state or federal photo ID upon a video-projected creek group members request. Know When To Stop Before You Start.® Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-522-4700. An Enterprise of can “splash” in, and a chamber where the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. ©2020, Caesars License Company, LLC. they can pick up a replica Colt pistol and shoot at a target from the same perspec-

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tive Wild Bill had on that fateful day.

The 18,000-square-foot museum, which opened its doors last August, offers groups escorted tours through its six permanent galleries, walking tours to historic sites in downtown Springfield and even step-on bus tours.

HISTORYMUSEUMONTHESQUARE.ORG

Mosaic, the Jekyll Island Museum JEKYLL ISLAND, GEORGIA

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osaic, an institution dedicated to exploring the rich history of Jekyll Island, might be a renovation of a previous museum, but it has little in common with its predecessor. While the former museum was housed in quarters so antiquated they lacked air conditioning, Mosaic, which opened in April 2019 after a fiveyear, $3.1 million redo of the 122-year-old structure, is a modern stunner. Showcasing five distinct eras in the Georgia barrier island’s past, with exhibits from the “Native American Era” to the present-day “State Era,” it houses more than 2,000 objects.

TH E ENTRANCE AT MOSAIC Courtesy Jekyll Island Authority

“Our front door leads directly to so many historic sites. The Trail of Tears passed through the square.”

— KRISTA ADAMS, HISTORY MUSEUM ON THE SQUARE

WWW. T R A V E L S O U T HU S A . CO M

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Georgia Aquarium

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When it opened in 2004, Atlanta’s Georgia Aquarium was the largest aquarium in the world. Now, it’s getting even bigger. A project called Expansion 2020 will feature a redesigned entry as well as a new shark gallery with f loor-to-ceiling windows that will help guests learn about these misunderstood creatures. The expansion will also give the aquarium opportunities to grow its conservation and education efforts. The new areas are scheduled to be unveiled this fall.

GEORGIAAQUARIUM.ORG

AN EXH I BIT AT MOSAIC, TH E J EKYLL IS LAN D M US EUM

ENJOYI NG N EW MOSAIC M US EUM EXH I BITS Photos courtesy Jekyll Island Authority

SOUTH AT L A N TA GEORGIA

Thanks to an updated climate control system and expanded space, Mosaic can properly preserve and display historical gems like a Native American dugout canoe made of Jekyll pine and stylish Louis Vuitton luggage that belonged to members of the Jekyll Island Club during the glamorous Gilded Age Club Era. Other exhibits include a Studebaker that plays old radio ads and music when guests press the pedal, and a working period neon sign that once advertised the old Jekyll Hotel. These artifacts mesh beautifully with the architectural details of the building — formerly a stable for workhorses — that still remain, including fireplaces, high lofted ceilings and stable doors.

“Groups can enjoy a number of experiences from Mosaic,” said Alexa Orndoff, director of marketing and communications at the Jekyll Island Authority. “We have our popular trolley tours to see the historic district and visit some of the original homes of the Jekyll Island Club’s first members. Or, try more unique experiences like ‘critters and cocktails,’ where our island biologists introduce you to some of our wildlife education ambassadors, and ‘historic cottage crawls’ where groups can mingle like the millionaires. They all provide groups an opportunity to make their gatherings more meaningful.”

JEKYLLISLAND.COM A TI NA TU R N ER EXH I BIT AT TH E WEST TEN N ESS EE DELTA H ERITAG E CENTER

Courtesy West TN Delta Hertiage Center

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RACE TO LOUISVILLE WITH YOUR NEXT GROUP Get away to a city that groups have been racing to for over 145 years. Find one of a kind attractions like the Kentucky Derby Museum and historic Churchill Downs, along with iconic museums like the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, Muhammad Ali Center and the World’s only Urban Bourbon Experience.

Learn more at GoToLouisville.com/TravelProfessionals | #LouisvilleLove

West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center BROWNSVILLE, TENNESSEE

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In Greenwood, the easy rhythm of the Delta dances with timeless Southern charm. Come experience mouthwatering culinary traditions, the legend of blues icon Robert Johnson, inspiring history and authentic hospitality that are sure to captivate your imagination— for a day, a weekend and forever.

pened in 1998, the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center just keeps getting bigger and better. Already boasting the West Tennessee Cotton Museum, the West Tennessee Music Museum and the Hatchie River Museum, the center added the Tina Turner Museum in 2014 after acquiring the historic Flagg Grove School.

The singer, born Anna Mae Bullock, attended the school in nearby Nutbush; today the building, filled with stage costumes, gold records and more, stands next to the last home of local blues great Sleepy John Estes. And in May 2019, West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center executive director Sonia Outlaw-Clark cut the ribbon on a covered pavilion and stage area, a boon to the center’s popular annual events.

“We had three bluesmen from Brownsville who were pioneers in the industry in the early 1900s,” said Outlaw-Clark. “We kind of try to keep that tradition alive with the Exit 56 Blues Fest, which we hold Memorial Day weekend. We do a special tribute to women and the blues on Sunday, with all women performers. And on the fourth weekend of September, we have our Tina Turner Heritage Days. Friday night is a fan gathering, and on Saturday we do tours to Nutbush. They also all go to the church in Nutbush that she used to attend for Sunday services. And Saturday night is the big Tina tribute concert.”

Group leaders can also book guided tours of the museums or even the surrounding area at the center.

WESTTNHERITAGE.COM

Asheville Art Museum ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA Savor the culinary traditions at The Viking Cooking School Explore the history of blues legend Robert Johnson Luxuriate in a truly upscale spa experience Hit the rivers & back roads AND MORE!

Start planning your getaway today at VisitGreenwood.com | 662.453.9197

T

he more than $24 million expansion of the Asheville Art Museum wasn’t the easiest project, but then anything great takes time. The 54,000-square-foot institution’s new look debuted last November following a three-year effort that involved linking three buildings together through historic preservation, the restoration of existing spaces and brand-new fabrication. The update boasts a light-filled glass entrance that replaces the old lobby; 70% more gallery space, including the SECU Collection Hall’s 10 new galleries; and a rooftop cafe and sculpture terrace overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains.

But it’s not just the spectacular renovation that makes the Asheville Art Museum so special.

“We have a depth of knowledge, understanding and artworks that represent southern Appalachia and western North Carolina,” said Kristi McMillan, the museum’s adult programs manager. “So, we can tell the story of how artists working here were influenced by American art at large and how American art at large was influenced by this region” McMillan said it’s difficult to pick any particular favorite artwork because, as an active collecting institution, new works are constantly coming into the museum. But groups touring the facility might want to keep an eye out for Willie Cole’s “Stowage,” a variation on woodblock printing that uses symbolism to examine African American cultural identity.

The museum can provide groups of 10 or more AS H E VI LLE private guided tours.

ART M US EUM ASHEVILLEART.ORGN

225 Howard Street | Greenwood, MS 38930

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By Ursula Gullow, courtesy Asheville Art Museum

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rom still forest glens to serene lakes, skyhigh mountain vistas to spectacular geological formations, the South is blessed with a landscape so untamed and beautiful that it’s both a pleasure and a privilege

to play within it.

Groups touring Southern states can enjoy a range of activities that will set adventurous spirits soaring without intimidating other travelers who might prefer their fun a little milder. Hiking iconic trails, hanging with woodland friends furry and feathered, taking to the water or just watching it fall, strolling dazzling bridges both natural and man-made, the South serves it all up at the following spots you’ll love to explore.

S H ENAN DOAH NATIONAL PARK I N VI RGI NIA OFFERS ABU N DANT OPPORTU NITI ES FOR WI LDLI FE VI EWI NG.

Courtesy NPS

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Shenandoah National Park LURAY, VIRGINIA

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ou just might call Shenandoah National Park the park that President Herbert Hoover helped build. In 1929, not long after taking office, Hoover purchased 164 acres for his rustic weekend retreat in what would shortly become Shenandoah National Park. He donated Rapidan Camp, which sheltered luminaries including Charles Lindbergh, Thomas Edison and Winston Churchill, to the commonwealth of Virginia in 1932. It officially became part of the 300-square-mile park three years later.

Today, groups can hop shuttles down to the secluded property on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains from Memorial Day to mid-October and tour the three remaining buildings of what’s been dubbed the original Camp David. But Rapidan isn’t the only storied land within Shenandoah. The Appalachian Trail extends for 101 miles through the park’s gently rolling landscape, thick with oak, hickory, maple and hemlock. Group travelers can indulge in everything from soothing strolls to strenuous hikes on it and other popular trails like Stony Man, which leads to an overlook high above the valley floor.

Groups also might want to take advantage of Shenandoah’s step-on guide service. According to Helen Morton, director of sales and marketing of Delaware North at Shenandoah National Park, along with other pleasures, the tours “stop at Byrd Visitor Center in the Big Meadows area. You get a great overview of the park there, and they’ve got a wonderful film, too. And then

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groups might go out for a walk in the meadow and have lunch at the lodge. It was dedicated in 1939, so we just celebrated 80 years. Shenandoah really offers a lot of visitor services for those coming into the park.”

GOSHENANDOAH.COM

Bays Mountain Park and Planetarium

KINGSPORT, TENNESSEE

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ith so much to see and do within its 3,500 acres, Bays Mountain Park and Planetarium was made for group travel. Adventurous guests will want to explore the park’s ropes course and 40 miles of hiking and biking trails; those looking for less adrenaline-charged activities can experience Bays Mountain’s state-of-the-art planetarium, a barge ride across the park’s 44-acre lake and a renowned nature center that’s home to wolves, bobcats, foxes and more.

“We are very fortunate and blessed to have the inventory and facilities that we do, and thankfully, so much of that centers around our natural resources,” said Rob Cole, Bays Mountain’s park manager. “We work very fluidly with groups and can do special programming depending on what they’d like to experience. We are able to tailor everything in such a way that we can break them into smaller groups and rotate those groups around to accommodate their needs so that everybody gets the same experience or a different experience, if that’s what they prefer. We can also provide catered meals through our Farmstead Museum.”

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A B LACK B EAR I N S H ENAN DOAH NATIONAL PARK

BAYS MOU NTAI N PARK I N TEN N ESS EE

Courtesy NPS

By Rob Cole, courtesy Bays Mountain Park and Planetarium

Tour life with the Lowcountry tides.

Meet the coastal town that will transform your next tour: Beaufort, SC. With over 70 historic sights to see, a walkable downtown, unique Gullah-Geechee heritage and freshcaught cuisine, Beaufort is the charming Southern destination motorcoach groups can’t stop talking about.

BeaufortSC.org

WWW. T R A V E L S O U T HU S A . CO M

LOOK FOR US AT TRAVEL SOUTH OR CALL US AT 843.525.8526

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TH E CATWALK B ELOW TH E N EW RIVER GORG E BRI DG E

HIGH-SPEED AIRBOAT SWAMP TOURS GUIDED BY LOCALS

504.689.2005 AIRBOATADVENTURES.COM

By Debra Parker, courtesy Bridge Walk

TH E PLAN ETARI UM AT BAYS MOU NTAI N PARK

JAM I E TH E FOX AT BAYS MOU NTAI N PARK AN D PLAN ETARI UM

Courtesy Bays Mountain Park and Planetarium

By Krystal Haney, courtesy Bays Mountain Park and Planetarium

leisurely pontoon cajun adventures!

BAYSMOUNTAIN.COM

Bridgewalk

NEW RIVER GORGE, WEST VIRGINIA

S

504.323.0570 74

AdventuresOf JeanLafitte.com

uspended 876 feet over the second-oldest river on the planet, the New River Gorge Bridge is not only the third-highest bridge in the country, it’s also the longest single-span arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere. Bridge Walk, which takes groups on an amble down the 3,030-foot length of the bridge’s catwalk, offers a memorable way to experience this incredible engineering feat and the scenery that surrounds it.

Courtesy Bays Mountain Park and Planetarium

of

It shouldn’t be surprising that the creators of Bays Mountain Park and Planetarium have so fiercely protected its natural marvels while providing the public unparalleled access to them.

The city of Kingsport hired the National Audubon Society to help design the park, and its first director was a representative of the illustrious conservation organization. When development began in 1968 at Bays Mountain, the facilities could handle just 100 cars a day; 50 years later, more than 200,000 people visit the park annually.

EXPLORI NG BAYS MOU NTAI N PARK

New SOUTH

TENNESSEE

SkyBridge Gatlinburg’s Skylift Park is already a popular attraction for travelers who want to take in the beauty of the Tennessee Smokies from atop a mountain peak.

Now, adventurous visitors can experience even more thrills with the Gatlinburg Skybridge, which opened at Skylift Park last spring. This 680-foot pedestrian suspension bridge is the largest in North America. Made of wood and featuring a 15-foot-long glass section, it hangs about 140 feet above the forest f loor.

GATLINBURGSKYLIFT.COM

For some, it’s an exhilarating bucket-list adventure. For others, it’s a way to take control of their fear of heights. For most, it’s accessible and easy to navigate.

Before heading out on the catwalk, which runs 25 feet below the bridge, group members are secured to the structure with safety cables. The first step might seem like a bit of a doozy, but the catwalk is solid plate, which helps calm any lingering nerves. By the end of the two-hour guided walk, guests are far more focused on the beauty of the landscape below than how high they are above it.

According to Bridge Walk guide Doug Coleman, it’s never a bad season for groups to stroll the catwalk.

“Much is made of fall foliage, and rightfully so,” he said. “But a lot of people like the wintertime. It's easier to see the contour of the land with snow on the ground and the leaves off the trees. Springtime is my personal favorite, when trees like paulownia, dogwood and redbud are blossoming. I always encourage my guests to bring a camera. You’ll want to take lots of pictures.”

BRIDGEWALK.COM

Our mountains

are pleased to meet you.

Once your meetings are complete, entertainment galore among the Great Smoky Mountains await.

The many meeting facilities in Pigeon Forge provide space for groups of all sizes, from 20 to 12,000. These facilities are conveniently situated mere minutes from hundreds of family-friendly activities, including shows, Dollywood, unique dining experiences, museums and so many more ways to make work fun.

PIGEONFORGEMEETING.COM INFO@LECONTECENTER.COM

PFT002287-001_SmallMarketMeeting_TravelSouthTour_PlannerAd_8x4.5_M1ab_.indd 1

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Aquarium of the Gulf Coast

HA HA TONKA S PRI NG

New SOUTH

A new aquarium opening this spring will give visitors to Mississippi’s Gulf Coast MISSISSIPPI a new way to learn about marine life from the Gulf and beyond. The Mississippi Aquarium is set to open in Gulfport at the end of April. The $93 million facility will sit on more than f ive acres of beachfront property and will feature more than 1 million gallons of saltwater and freshwater exhibits.

Highlights will include a 30-foot-long immersive tunnel and large-scale outdoor exhibits.

MSAQUARIUM.ORG

Courtesy Ha Ha Tonka State Park

Ha Ha Tonka State Park LAKE OF THE OZARKS, MISSOURI

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here’s a story to go with the picturesque castle ruins at Ha Ha Tonka State Park, but it’s a bit of a tragic one. Around the turn of the 20th century, Kansas City businessman Robert McClure Snyder visited the northern Ozark Mountains, promptly fell in love with the area and decided to build a palatial vacation home overlooking

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HA HA TONKA STATE PARK NATU RAL BRI DG E

Courtesy Ha Ha Tonka State Park

HA HA TONKA CASTLE

Courtesy Ha Ha Tonka State Park

what would eventually become the Lake of the Ozarks.

But before Snyder could spend even one night in it, he died in an auto accident. His sons finished the project, but just two decades later, in 1942, a fire burned the building to the ground.

Groups will discover more at Ha Tonka than the fairy-tale-like ruins and its gorgeous view. The park, which bears an old folk name believed to have been created by settlers in honor of the Osage Native American tribe, is also a prime example of karst topography.

“Our bedrock has been dissolved away,” said park naturalist Jacob Bryant, “and that’s left the park with many caves, sizable sinkholes, natural bridges and springs. Ha Tonka is really the best of both worlds when it comes to resources. We also have a rich cultural history starting with the Osage and then the early settlers and the Snyders, as well as some of the finest examples of oak woodlands and glades that you’ll find in Missouri.”

Blessed with opportunities for kayaking and fishing, and plenty of hiking trails and boardwalks for all skill levels, Ha Tonka also offers specialized group programs about topics such as the castle, Ha Tonka Spring and the park’s large natural bridge.

MOSTATEPARKS.COM/PARK/HA-HA-TONKASTATE-PARK

SOUTH CARO LI NA’S ISSAQ U EENA FALLS

Issaqueena Falls

Courtesy Discover South Carolina

WALHALLA, SOUTH CAROLINA

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ssaqueena Falls, which sits nearly surrounded by South Carolina’s Sumter National Forest, is the stuff of legend. According to a story that originated 250 years ago, Issaqueena was a Cherokee princess who fell in love with an Oconee brave. Her father didn’t approve of the relationship, as fathers in romantic folk tales never seem to do, so Issaqueena was forced to flee. She leaped across the falls, successfully evading her pursuers, and lived happily ever after with her lover.

Issaqueena Falls is accessible via a short path that leads to a platform built about three-quarters of the way up the 100-foot-tall cascade waterfall. Active group members can hike down to the bottom or head off to the area’s second feature.

“We call this attraction a twofer because Stumphouse Tunnel is within a few hundred feet of the falls,” said Tim Todd, executive director of the Discover Upcountry Carolina Association. “It was begun in 1856. The tunnel was supposed to be part 78

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of the Blue Ridge Railroad that would have linked Charleston to Cincinnati. They got 1,600 feet of it built, but the money ran out. And then in April of 1861, we had a little occurrence at Fort Sumter in Charleston that kicked off what we call the War of Northern Aggression. With all of that going on, the tunnel was never finished.”

Like the Issaqueena Falls, Stumphouse Tunnel is close to parking; however, the road leading to the attractions is not accessible to motorcoaches.

Group leaders should reach out to the Discover Upcountry Carolina Association to schedule shuttle vans from a nearby Forest Service office to the attractions.

STUM PHOUS E TU N N EL

VISITOCONEESC.COM/ STUMPHOUSE-PARK

What to do!

Natural Bridge State Resort Park SLADE, KENTUCKY

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atural Bridge State Resort Park takes its name from the magnificent 78-footlong sandstone formation that rises 65 feet over Daniel Boone National Forest. Formed by what is suspected to have been an earthquake, Natural Bridge can be reached by hiking up about 500 Courtesy Discover South Carolina

Where to eat!

Passenger Ferry

New SOUTH

Where to stay!

VISITNATCHEZ.ORG 800.647.6724 Lynsey Smith Director of Sales

lynsey@visitnatchez.org

601.446.6345

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L a st spr ing, the Nor th Ca rolina Ferr y System added a passenger-only route from Hatteras Island to Ocracoke’s Silver Lake NORTH CAROLINA Harbor, giving travelers a way to explore the island’s central village without a car. The 98-seat Ocracoke Express Passenger Ferry will take visitors straight into Ocracoke, where they can explore the village, rent bicycles or golf carts or board a free shuttle for transportation around the island. Ocracoke is know n for its beaches as well as its Blackbeard history.

OUTERBANKS.ORG

NATU RAL BRI DG E S KY LI FT

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KENTUCKY’S NATU RAL BRI DG E

feet in elevation. Groups can also take the less taxing sky lift, a peaceful 15-minute ride to the top of the ridgeline.

Once there, visitors are free to wander the 25-foot-wide geological wonder.

There’s plenty to capture the fancy of groups at the park, including canoeing, kayaking, fishing and birding.

Serious birders are enthusiastic about the warblers that flock there May through June. There’s a lodge and restaurant on-site, and a celebrated hoedown has been held summers there for about the past 50 years. The event, which features a square dance caller, brings in upward of 800 local residents and visitors on a busy night.

The park can accommodate groups with a variety of programs including tours of the bridge, nature hikes and presentations about the area’s history. Whatever aspect you choose to focus on, said Brian Gasdorf, Natural Bridge State Resort Park grounds and trail supervisor, you’re going to see spectacular diversity.

“We have so many different rocks that are exposed at the surface,” he said, “including silkstone, limestone, dolostone and black shale. There’s also an amazing variety of plant life, which leads to a wide diversity in wildlife, like bears, bobcats and beavers. As a naturalist, it’s kind of like being a kid in a candy store.”

KY.GOV/PARKS/RESORTPARKS/NATURAL-BRIDGE

Photos courtesy Natural Bridge State Resort Park

Three National Parks One Incredible Destination

Wright Brothers National Memorial

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site

For group adventures, contact Lorrie Love; love@outerbanks.org, or call 877-629-4386 82

AmericasFirstBeach.com

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

The Outer Banks OF NORTH CAROLINA

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Plan your adventure at ArkEncounter.com (South of Cincinnati)

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