The recent Travel Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. helped to generate attention for the need for the U.S. to market itself abroad in order to help encourage international visitation to the U.S. and to help foster better international relations. With two versions of the legislation pending in the House and Senate, TIA says the Travel Promotion Act is gaining support in Congress. The House version (H.R. 3232) now has more than 100 co-sponsors, while a total of 23 co-sponsors have signed on to its companion in the Senate (S. 1661).

The legislation, largely due to heavy lobbying by the industry, has been "growing sponsorship every day," said TIA's Roger Dow. During the Marketing Outlook Forum, Dow updated attendees on the Travel Promotion Act of 2007, a proposed $200 million public and private initiative to spur inbound travel and help project a more favorable image of travel to America. For more information visit, www.tia.org.

"Condé Nast Traveler" released the results of their 2007 Readers Choice Awards in the November issue - and three GA locations were among the favorites.

For Top Hotels, The Cloister on Sea Island was in the top 50. The Lodge on Little St. Simons Island was voted as the number one resort in the United States and ranked number 22 in the world in the Best of the Best list, with a rating of 95.4 out of a possible total of 100. Savannah was ranked 8th among U.S. cities with 77.6 percent of the vote while San Francisco was ranked #1 followed by New York. 

Destinations were chosen based on superior ratings for ambience, friendliness, culture, historic sites, restaurants, lodging and shopping.  For more information and to view the complete list, visit www.concierge.com/bestof/readerschoice.

Presentations from the 2007 Governor's Conference on Tourism are available on www.marketgeorgia.org in the Industry Presentation section. In addition, we encourage you to visit the Industry Research section for research on Georgia's tourism industry.

GDEcD wants to help you promote your podcast on Georgia.org. The Department will be producing our first podcast later this month for the tourism division that will showcase some of what Georgia has to offer through this very popular medium. If your community or attraction already has podcasts available and you are willing to share them on www.georgia.org please pass along to Jim Robertson at jrobertson@georgia.org.  The podcasts will be promoted on www.georgia.org/podcast.

Governor Perdue announced on November 1 that the state of Georgia has withdrawn its motion for preliminary injunction filed against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  The motion was filed on October 19 in the Middle District of Florida to require the Corps to alter the Interim Operations Plan (IOP).  The IOP establishes the guidelines for the release of water from federal reservoirs in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River (ACF) Basin including Lake Lanier and West Point Lake.

"With the recent intervention by President Bush to compel our federal partners to come to the table, I am optimistic that this matter can be resolved outside of a courtroom," said Governor Perdue.  "I never want to resort to legal action to settle disputes, but the seriousness of this drought forced me to explore every option available to protect Georgia's water resources."

The withdrawal comes in response to the announcement on Thursday, November 1 that the Corps of Engineers has recommended to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to alter releases from Georgia's federal reservoirs and send less water downstream.

On November 1, the Corps issued a letter to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service requesting a formal consultation for proposed modifications of the IOP.  The Corps proposed to incrementally reduce the amount of water released in the Apalachicola River from 5,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 4,150 cfs and allow storage of excess inflows in reservoirs.  In an unprecedented commitment on turn-around time, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is expected to review the recommendation and make a ruling by November 15, 2007.  For more information on what is being done to conserve water in Georgia, visit www.conservewatergeorgia.net.

Corporate travel buyers should expect a 6 percent to 8 percent overall increase in published travel costs, according to the National Business Travel Association's (NBTA) 2008 U.S. Business Travel Overview & Cost Forecast report released last week. The report, which primarily uses survey results from 215 NBTA member buyers, shows expectations for published airfare increases in 2008 of between 6 percent and 10 percent. In the face of the price increases, buyers plan to tighten their policies. According to the survey, 8 percent are reducing nonessential travel and a similar amount plan to do so in 2008. Additionally, 16 percent of respondents will restrict business class travel, a jump from 7 percent in 2007. To find out more, visit www.btnonline.com/businesstravelnews/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003659421 . A full report will soon be provided to NBTA members and will be for sale for non-members; for more information on that, visit www.nbta.org.

As part of a new partnership with the U.S. Government, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has commissioned and donated a multi-media initiative for use in international arrivals areas at U.S. airports and other ports-of-entry, embassies and other venues. DiscoverAmerica.com, the Official Travel and Tourism Website of the United States, is hosting the Welcome: Portraits of America video which features film and still portraits showcasing the friendliness and diversity of the American people and beauty of the American landscape. Visit the temporary splash page on www.DiscoverAmerica.com to learn more about its upcoming launch and to view Welcome: Portraits of America.

The Board of the GGCOA (Georgia Golf Course Owners Association) elected Reynolds Plantation as its 2007 Course of the Year this summer. Reynolds Plantation then competed for NGCOA Course of the Year. Reynolds Plantation earned this honor with its portfolio of courses, each of which have already won numerous awards. The Board of the NGCOA announced its winner this week. Reynolds Plantation will be recognized in January at the 2008 Golf Industry Show in Orlando.

Both the GGCOA & NGCOA use the following criteria for their selections:

1.       Exceptional quality of the course

2.       Exceptional quality of ownership and management

3.       Outstanding contribution to its community

4.       Significant contribution to the game of golf

Tourists now can pay virtual visits to Augusta's landmark buildings and historic districts before they actually see them.  Through a collaboration between national, state and local heritage and tourism organizations, the city's history can be explored online at a new National Park Service website- www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/augusta.

The online travel itinerary highlights 39 Augusta sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The website provides descriptions, maps, photographs, visitor information, and links for each place. Five essays interpret important themes including the city's overall history, historic preservation, the African-American community, and religious institutions.

Augusta is the 45th itinerary featured in the Park Service's Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary Series. The series was developed by the National Park Service Heritage Education Services division in partnership with the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to promote public awareness of history and encourage visits to historic places.

According to a recent article in USA Today, leisure trips and travel spending are expected to continue modest growth through 2008, but travel preferences are changing, according to the Travel Industry Association's annual forecast.

Travel spending by domestic and international visitors to the U.S. in 2008 is expected to increase 5.2%, to $778.2 billion, and the number of leisure trips taken domestically is projected to increase 2.5% for 2007 and 2% next year, TIA predicted.

International travel to the U.S., including visitors from Canada and Mexico, is expected to rise 3.7% in 2008 to 55.6 million visitors, following a projected 5.1% increase for 2007, the TIA said. However, since 2000, there has been an 11% decline overall in overseas visitors to the U.S., the TIA said, despite the fact that the weak dollar makes the U.S. a travel bargain for many travelers from abroad.

TIA's forecast also included findings by the leisure trend analyst Peter Yesawich, based on a nationwide online consumer survey of 2,296 adults who took at least one overnight trip in the past year.

To view the complete article, visit www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2007-11-05-leisure-travel-forecast_N.htm.  

Warner Robins, GA- Candi James, Guided Tour Coordinator for the Education Department at the Museum of Aviation has been chosen as the Georgia Museum Educator of the Year.  She officially received the award on Friday September 28, 2007 at the Georgia Museum Educators (GME) Association meeting in Roswell, Georgia and it will be announced again at the annual GME conference.

The Georgia Educator of the Year is a competitive and prestigious award established to recognize educators who make a substantial contribution to the field of museum education in Georgia.  Nominees are evaluated based on their individual contributions to increasing public and professional awareness about museum education, and the impact of their institution on the community.

Candi runs the Museum's Guided Tour department and is also responsible for recruiting and training both volunteer and employed tour guides.  She developed the Girl Scout Patriotism program and managed the Native American Heritage program.  To learn more about the Guided Tour program visit www.museumofaviation.org or contact the Education Department at (478) 926-5558.