PORT ANGELES — A few slots are still open for the 2011 Tourism Summit at Fort Worden State Park on Wednesday.
The one-day seminar, which features speakers on tourism and travel, will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Fort Worden Commons.
No Discover Pass is needed to attend.
The conference is open to any regional businesses in and around the Salish Sea interested in tourism, said Mary Brelsford, spokeswoman for the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau based in Port Angeles.
Registration, which includes lunch, is $75, with the second registration from the same organization being $65.
Keeping it low
Originally, that was the cost only of early-bird registration, with the registration fee going up as the event approached, but it was decided to keep the cost at the lower rate, Brelsford said.
“We know everybody’s having a tough go,” she said.
The conference sponsored by the Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission will be preceded Tuesday by a reception for all the attendees, vendors
and speakers.
The reception, co-sponsored by the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Alchemy Bistro & Wine Bar, 842 Washington St., Port Townsend.
Focus on serving
The sessions will be aimed at helping businesses anticipate the needs of visitors and meet their expectations, Brelsford said.
Suzanne Fletcher, interim director of the Washington Tourism Alliance, will introduce the tourism association, which was formed to replace the Washington State Tourism office that was cut from the state budget this year.
The opening session speaker will be Nan Devlin of Avid Traveler Consultants, presenting “The Full Marketing Monty: Engaging Visitors Before, During and After Their Trip.”
Devlin is a lecturer in sustainable tourism in the graduate school of business at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where she earned a master’s in tourism administration.
The luncheon speaker will be Monica Rafter, owner of Write On Communications in Tucson, Ariz., who will speak on “Customer Service — Hospitality; What’s the difference?”
Tying it together
The closing speaker will be Jennifer Peper, vice president of the Aristotle Internet firm, who will speak on “Tying It All Together — Making Sense of a Growing List of Complex Marketing Channels.”
Other speakers include Kevin O’Keefe, CEO and publisher of LexBlog, which provides social media solutions and strategies to law firms.
O’Keefe will discuss “Legal Issues with Social Media.
Leif Hansen will tackle the topic of “Going Local: Three Top Social Media Strategies for Local Businesses. Let’s find out what’s working in our neighborhood!”
A travel writing panel is planned.
To register online and pay with credit card via PayPal, visit tinyurl.com/3jnlh5r.
To register by phone and pay by check, phone 360-452-8552.
The Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission is made up of chambers of commerce and tourism marketing entities from the Hood Canal to Kalaloch.
