Texas Forest Trail Region Partners with Huntsville Tourism Department to Offer Special Events for Travel & Tourism Week
HUNTSVILLE, TX, – On Tuesday, May 6 the Texas Forest Trail Region (TFTR), in partnership with City of Huntsville Tourism and the Sam Houston Memorial Museum will offering a series of tourism presentations on customer service and Hotel Occupancy Taxes for local businesses. The workshop will be held from 9:00–3:00 p.m. at the Katy & E. Don Walker Education Center, 1400 19th Street.
The event, coordinated to occur during National Travel and Tourism Week – May 3-11, 2014 will feature a keynote luncheon with the inspirational “Yankee Cowboy” Dave Lieber. Lieber is an international speaker, author, humorist and the Watchdog columnist for the Dallas Morning News.
We want to inspire community members and hospitality industry employees to become knowledgeable, trusted ambassadors for our visitors,” stated Kimm Thomas. “When an employee knows the history of their community, the attractions and happenings and understands how tourism dollars impact that community, they are more confident and provide a more positive experience that will entice visitors to stay longer and to keep coming back. Partnering with the Texas Forest Trail Region and using their resources is a vital key to us becoming a “Texas Friendly” destination and to help spread the word about our great community.”
Texas Forest Trail Executive Director, Marty Prince a certified hospitality trainer, will teach participants about the fundamentals of customer service, opportunities for tourism development, and ways to make the Huntsville area a tourist-friendly place. All participants will be “Texas Friendly” certified at the conclusion of day. “Offering excellent customer service to your customers is the best and easiest advertising your business can do for itself,” says Prince. “This workshop focuses on empowering employees to be their best, and provides the skills they need to keep customers coming back.”
The second session will focus on Huntsville’s tourism assets and the use of Hotel Occupancy Taxes (HOT) and how to spend those funds. Attendees will also be given the opportunity to network with one another, learn about happenings throughout the city and information about the history and culture of the area.
“This program is a great opportunity for Huntsville businesses and employees to learn some very valuable tools to better serve their customers and clients,” said Kimm Thomas, City of Huntsville, Director of Tourism & Cultural Services, and TFTR President. “The customer service skills and tourism information learned in this program can be used from the front line employee to the management staff.”
Registration for the Full-Day with lunch is $30; workshops only is $15; and lunch only is $15. Registration is required and payable to the City of Huntsville Tourism Department by cash or check. Cost includes workshop, all workshop materials, and lunch. Participants may pre-register through April 29, online at TexasForestTrail.com/
The Texas Forest Trail Region is a regional tourism initiative developed by the Texas Historical Commission that fosters economic development through tourism promotion and the preservation of cultural and historic resources. The Texas Forest Trail Region encompasses 35 counties in East Texas including Anderson, Angelina, Bowie, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Franklin, Gregg, Hardin, Harrison, Henderson, Houston, Jasper, Jefferson, Marion, Montgomery, Morris, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, Panola, Polk, Red River, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Smith, Titus, Trinity, Tyler, Upshur, Walker and Wood.
For more information on the Texas Forest Trail Region, contact Executive Director Marty Prince at 936/560-3699 or [email protected] or visit texasforesttrail.com/