Discover New England, a nonprofit organization that promotes the region’s tourism offerings internationally, will host tour operators from 15 countries at its 23rd Annual Tourism Summit and International Marketplace this month. The event will be held April 22 – 24 at the Sea Crest Beach Hotel in Falmouth, Massachusetts.
Discover New England Executive Director Lori Harnois said, “The summit is the only event of its kind in New England. Each year, our tourism industry comes together to develop business relationships with top international travel professionals who organize, package and market U.S. trips to many thousands of overseas visitors each year.”
In 2016 New England hosted 2.1 million overseas visitors who spent $6.1 billion traveling to New England destinations, according to the most recent data available from research firm Travel Market Insights.
This year, Discover New England will host 85 buyers from the U.S., United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark. Approximately 300 New England tourism attractions, hotels, restaurants and destination marketing organizations will also attend.
The highlight of the event is a marketplace where tourism professionals from New England meet directly with international tour and receptive operators, educating them about their travel products, establishing relationships and initiating contracts for both group tours and foreign independent travelers. At the 2017 summit, Discover New England facilitated more than 5,000 meetings between international buyers and New England tourism suppliers.
This year’s keynote speaker is U.S Travel Association’s President and CEO Roger Dow.
“The potential value of the Discover New England summit to the region’s destinations and hospitality businesses cannot be overstated,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow. “The ability to connect with dozens upon dozens of influential travel buyers all at one event provides tremendous bang for the marketing buck, and will elevate the region’s entire economy and jobs base with the huge volume of visitors they will bring on the back end. I, for one, am honored to be participating in the summit this year.”
The summit also includes reports from each of Discover New England’s target markets. The event is held in a different New England state each year. For more information, visit www.discovernewengland.org/dne-summit.
About Discover New England
Discover New England (www.discovernewengland.org), founded in 1992, enables New England’s tourism industry to reach the global market and attract more international visitors. In partnership with the state tourism offices of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, Discover New England works directly with travel trade professionals to promote New England tourism while providing regional tourism and hospitality businesses and organizations with the tools they need to competitively market themselves internationally, including the latest research, educational tools and travel trends.
