SPARTANBURG, SC--- After three years of specialized summer classes, Amy Phillips, Marketing and Communications Manager for the Spartanburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, is nearing certification as a Travel Marketing Professional (TMP).  Amy Phillips has two projects to complete to earn TMP certification from the Southeast Tourism Society Marketing College. Her third year of classes was last month at North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega.

Phillips was one of 232 tourism professionals enrolled at the Southeast Tourism Society (STS) Marketing College last month.  The week-long program turns the facilities of North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega, Ga., into a laboratory to teach tourism marketing each summer.

“We’re obviously very proud of Amy’s accomplishment,” said CVB Executive Director Chris Jennings.  “Her dedication and hard work for Spartanburg is unparalleled.”

There is no other professional development program like STS Marketing College, and it is recognized nationally for its training of tourism leaders. 626 people have earned TMP certification.

“In the tourism industry, TMP certification carries a lot of weight,” said Bill Hardman, president and CEO of the Southeast Tourism Society, a 12-state organization that promotes travel and tourism in the Southeast.

The STS Marketing College began in 1992 to provide continuing education for tourism professionals and feted its 20^th anniversary this year.  Tourism ranks as the first-, second- or third-largest industry in each STS member state. Students come from convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, attractions, hotels and other segments of the tourism industry.   The curriculum covers topics such as branding, social media, packaging and sports marketing.  Heritage tourism and research are courses that have attracted special interest in recent years.

“Southeast Tourism Society is recognized nationwide for the cohesiveness and camaraderie it fosters in the region.  No other region in the U.S. has a similar organization.  STS Marketing College is a major project to build skills and professionalism in the tourism industry,” Hardman said.