Cullman County Museum Director Drew Green recently completed a three-year continuing education program to become a certified Travel Marketing Professional. Green was one of 17 of 65 graduates to also receive the Festival and Event Planner certification from the Southeast Tourism Society (STS).

The graduates of the STS Marketing College received their certificates in Little Rock, Ark., on Feb. 10.

STS Marketing College hold week-long summer sessions at North Georgia College and University in Dahlonega, Ga. Instructors are travel industry professionals such as convention and visitors’ bureau executives, public relations practitioners, sales and marketing consultants and research experts.

“Our Marketing College program is designed to provide applicable tools and working knowledge that our travel and tourism professionals can immediately implement when promoting their destinations, attractions, hotels and events,” said Monida Smith, STS president and CEO.

Participants learn about online marketing strategies, creating eye-catching and engaging tourism brochures, social media content planning and distribution, Google analytics, travel and tourism research, community engagement, economic impact studies and budgeting. In addition to classroom work, students must also complete two projects that relate to their job while using skills learned in the program.

Green used what he learned in the program to increase participation in the Oktoberfest School Program and in promoting the Bicentennial Finale. He used social media channels and in-person visits to promote the museum’s Oktoberfest activities. “Because of this coordinated effort we saw a significant increase in the number of students attending,” said Green.”We were also pleased to welcome some first time schools from the county.”

Green said the college provided him with the information and skills to better promote Cullman tourism. “With so many natural attractions, events and venues, it is important that we get the word out to a broader audience, not just locals,” he said. “There are so many new avenues to market and promote tourism in our  area and many did not exist 10 years ago. From new social media sites, websites, apps etc. Many of these are free or low cost so we can reach out to people around the world. Understanding how these work, and better yet how to make them work for you, is a valuable asset.”

He said the networking the college provides is also an on-going asset. “Our graduating class has a Facebook page where we can ask questions and share ideas. You can also learn from others experiences about what works and does not work in a similar location or venue,” he said.

According to the Alabama Tourism Department, tourism is was a $15.5 billion industry in 2018, with an estimated 27.7 million people visiting the state. In that same year, it’s estimated that $954 million of state and local revenues were generated by travel and tourism activities.