Sustainability & Authenticity: Marketing Your Destination’s Unique Character is the theme of the eighth annual SMG Tourism Conference at Lake Tahoe to be held on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 at Embassy Suites Resort in South Lake Tahoe, CA from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, with an adjoining trade show exhibition area also open from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. New for 2007, the conference will by followed by a
Geotourism Dinner Cruise on the Tahoe Queen, featuring a panel discussion moderated by the National Geographic Society.
For the past seven years, the SMG Tourism Conference at Lake Tahoe has provided tourism executives with relevant and strategic information to help them improve their competitiveness. A must for anyone involved in promoting tourism, this year’s event addresses issues critical to tourism, including geotourism, social media and brand building, California tourism trends, and how Indian gaming and economic development trends are impacting destination character.
The SMG Tourism Conference is the only event that encompasses all the issues surrounding Lake Tahoe and California rural tourism. It’s an opportunity for local businesses to learn about emerging and long-term issues that affect them on a daily basis, and the new marketing approaches and solutions specifically designed to address them.
This year’s event will feature such prominent speakers as Jonathan Tourtellot, the Director of Sustainable Destinations at the National Geographic Society discussing the concept of geotourism; Dave LaPlante, CEO of Twelve Horses, focusing on how social marketing can help promote a destination’s character; Dr. William Eadington, University of Nevada Reno, providing his insight on Indian gaming and its impact on rural tourism; along with updates on California tourism programs and much more.
The conference could not exist without the support of its many sponsors. Major sponsors include Embassy Suites Lake Tahoe, HD 96 Publishing, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, Mountain News Corporation, North Lake Tahoe Visitor Bureaus, Resort Sports Network, Sierra Nevada Media Group and Sunset Publishing Corporation.
Additional sponsors include Heavenly Mountain Resort, Pettit Gilwee Public Relations, Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Magazine, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Alpen Sierra Coffee Company, American Express®, MeringCarson, Northstar-at-Tahoe™, Reno-Tahoe International Airport, Sierra-at-Tahoe®, SKI & SKIING Magazines, and Reno-Tahoe International Airport.
The conference fee is $140 for one or two people or $115 for 3 or more attendees. Fee includes registration, lunch and all materials. Spaces on the Geotourism Dinner Cruise are $58 each, and are payable by check or credit card. Conference registrations are requested by May 22, 2007, and dinner cruise registrations are requested by May 29, 2007. For more information, visit
www.smgtourismconference.com or call (530) 541-2462, ext. 102.
