News Release Distributed 07/23/12

The Miss-Lou Rural Tourism Association will hold a summit Aug. 7-9 in Natchez, Miss., according to Dora Ann Hatch, LSU AgCenter agritourism coordinator.

The meeting is open to anyone involved in rural tourism in Louisiana or Mississippi, she said. Topics include governmental policies, culinary tourism, public relations, crisis communication, marketing and the use of film and video in promotion.

“Speakers will be from the food, hunting, movie and travel industry showing how they market their operations. A special session will be devoted to handling crisis situations like the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and sharing how to sustain the tourism industry,” Hatch said.

Registration begins at 2 p.m. on Aug. 7 at the Visitor Center. The meeting will be at the Vue Hotel and concludes at 12:30 p.m. on Aug. 9. More information may be obtained by contacting Hatch at dhatch@agcenter.lsu.edu. The conference website is www.msgovt.org/misslou.php.

Linda Foster Benedict