Checking In - South April 2010

February 26, 2010

Tyler Davidson

While the economy slowly rights itself—and I do mean slowly—the U.S. hospitality industry may take a bit of comfort in the recent signing of the Travel Promotion Act. While not the cure-all for everything that ails us, the fact that the government is placing a priority on promoting tourism is certainly a move in the positive direction.

Having recently traveled to Tupelo to attend the Mississippi Governor’s Conference on Tourism, I can attest to how front-and-center the issue of the economy is. The opening general session speaker, Caroline Beteta, president and CEO of the California Travel & Tourism Commission and chair of the U.S. Travel Association, said that we are starting to see a slow recovery, and that international travel to the U.S. could be back on a record pace by 2013. Not a reason to start singing "Happy Days Are Here Again," but once again, a move in the right direction.

Check out our story on the Mississippi Governor’s Conference on Tourism on the news page, and make sure to access some video content shot at the event in the digital edition, available on MeetingsFocus.com, for even more perspective both on the hospitality industry and the prodigious cultural tourism offerings available in the Magnolia State.

In the words of Tupelo native son Elvis Presley, "Thankya very much."

About the author

Tyler Davidson is the vice president and chief content director for Meetings Today, which publishes the meetings industry trade magazine Meetings Today as well as MeetingsToday.com, various newsletters, webinars, the in-person Meetings Today LIVE! Hosted-buyer events and other meetings and events industry B2B channels.

Tyler has covered the travel trade for nearly 35 years. In his role with Meetings Today, which recently won the prestigious FOLIO: Eddies Award for best magazine issue, Tyler leads the editorial team on its mission to provide the most in-depth meetings content in the industry. Previously, he worked as the Asia, Canada, Pacific Northwest and Western U.S. editor at Travel Weekly magazine and TravelAge West. Before joining the dual editorial staff producing destination sections for Travel Weekly and TravelAge West, Tyler was the Africa, Israel, Middle East, Switzerland and Pacific Northwest editor at TravelAge West. He also undertook general news and feature assignments while working at the magazines.

Besides reporting on the travel trade, Tyler has covered the real estate industry, held various editorial positions at the San Francisco-based national satire magazine The Nose, wrote freelance technology industry pieces and covered the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders for a bilingual newspaper in San Francisco. He has a B.A. in Journalism from San Francisco State University, where he worked in various editorial capacities on its award-winning student magazine, Prism.

Contact: tyler.davidson@meetingstoday.com