FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 18, 2000
Contact: Kimberly Riddle
Tel.: (202) 366-5580
DOT 204-00
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Slater Hosts Mississippi Delta Tourism Development Forum
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Bringing together over 160 public and private leaders including leaders in the tourism field, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater today opened an important forum in Memphis, Tenn., to foster the development of a region-wide strategy for tourism marketing and development in the Mississippi Delta Region.
"President Clinton and Vice President Gore are committed to helping the Mississippi Delta region share in the nation’s prosperity and to protect its natural heritage," said Secretary Slater. "The forum highlights the ongoing efforts of the Clinton-Gore Administration to be sure all people share in the economic prosperity of our nation."
Building on the many tourism development activities already under way in the Delta Region, the forum brings together a wide range of public and private tourism leaders to develop an enhanced regional tourism development and marketing strategy. Participants will collaborate with their regional counterparts to examine regional assets, discuss challenges and develop partnerships during a series of panel discussions held throughout the two-day forum. Following the panel discussions, working groups will document the regional assets and needs and devise a compilation of strategies that will guide the establishment and implementation of an enhanced tourism development and marketing plan for the region.
Scheduled sessions during the Oct. 18-20 forum include Common Assets of the Delta Region, where panelists will discuss the regional resources available for an enhanced tourism development and marketing plan. In the second session, Challenges and Needs: Infrastructure, Workforce, Natural Resources, and Facilities, panelists will examine area infrastructure challenges and needs. In the final session, Tourism Development Strategies, participants will discuss their experiences and perspectives on the tourism development strategies now in place in the Delta Region and highlight successful private/public partnerships.
The forum grows out of the national conference, Delta Vision, Delta Voices, hosted by the President Clinton, Vice President Gore and Secretary Slater in Arlington, Va., in May 2000. During the conference Vice President Gore announced a plan to boost the image of the Delta as a destination to visit and enjoy in order to enhance the region’s economic power. The forum is a joint project of the Departments of Transportation, Agriculture, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development and the Interior as well as the state tourism offices from the seven states of the Mississippi Delta Region.
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