STS Marketing College is the premier program for the tourism industry as there is no other program quite like it in the United States.”

Bill Hardman, president and CEO of Southeast Tourism Society

LaDonna Hinesley, Foley’s leisure tourism marketing director, has earned the Travel Marketing Professional (TMP) certification after completing a three-year program of the Southeast Tourism Society Marketing College.

Hinesley was one of 65 new TMPs recognized at the STS Spring Symposium in Baton Rouge. The STS Marketing College started in 1992, and 948 people have earned TMP certification.

Marketing College professors are industry-related professionals from across the U.S., noted as experts in their field, who bring a working knowledge of current trends, data and implementation for tourism and travel.

“STS Marketing College is the premier program for the tourism industry as there is no other program quite like it in the United States,” said Bill Hardman, president and CEO of STS.

Tourism ranks as the first-, second- or third-largest industry in the 12 STS states that stretch from Virginia to Louisiana.

Course topics include special events marketing, media relations, tourism advertising, vacation research, crisis management, heritage tourism and community/rural tourism. After the classroom work, students also must complete two projects that relate to their employment.

“Our curriculum is practical. After each year, the knowledge students gain can be put to immediate use in their workplaces,” Hardman said.

The newest group of TMPs raised $11,000 to fund 11 scholarships for future STS Marketing College students.

About Southeast Tourism Society (STS)

Founded in 1983, the Southeast Tourism Society (southeasttourism.org) promotes and develops tourism in its 12 member states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The headquarters are in Atlanta. The membership includes state travel offices, attractions, hotels, motels, resorts, convention and visitors bureaus, airlines, car rental agencies, newspapers, magazines and other travel-related organizations.