| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 19/11/01 |
| Author: | Page Number: 6 |
| Copyright: Other |
Alabama returns to UK market
THE US State of Alabama is re-opening its UK tourist office after a two-year gap.
The move follows a period of stagnant sales from the UK and a reduction in product in tour operator brochures.
Tourist leaders said they needed to raise the profile of Alabama, which was in danger of becoming the forgotten state of the Deep South.
US and international marketing manager Grey Brennan said: “International interest is one of the key areas we need to increase, but there was no way we could do that without any representation in the UK.
“Two years ago it was felt an office was not necessary and while bookings have not gone down, they have not increased.”
Its return to the UK market has also enabled the state to join the Deep South alliance – a UK-based consortium that jointly promotes the region.
Vanessa Alexander, who heads the new tourist office in Tolworth, Surrey, said: “We were being left out and product in operator’s brochures was slipping away.
“Raising the profile and working more closely withthe trade is now my primary objective.”
Brennan declined to reveal Alabama’s UK marketing budget but said 10% of it had been ploughed into the new office.