Visit Savannah will welcome the U.S. Travel Association's 39^th annual Tourism Marketing Conference, "ESTO," August 19-23 at the Savannah Convention Center.

ESTO is an annual conference for destination marketing professionals from city, regional, and state tourism offices. Each year the conference is held in a different destination and features four days of educational sessions, networking opportunities, and industry awards.

"ESTO is the Superbowl of conferences for destination marketers, but Savannah and our brand of southern hospitality will be the showstopper," said Visit Savannah president Joseph Marinelli.

"ESTO will bring more than 1,200 conference attendees to town in a historically low occupancy period for four days of destination emersion as they stay in our hotels, shop in our shops and dine in our amazing restaurants." Marinelli went on to say that conference goers and support staff will contribute more than $875,000 to Savannah's visitor economy over the event. ESTO reports the Savannah conference is a sell-out with record-breaking attendance. Visit Savannah last hosted ESTO in 2010.

"Travel is essential to the success and vibrancy of states and communities nationwide, including Savannah," said Geoff Freeman, President and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. "Our ESTO program this year is designed to give travel leaders the tools and best-in-class practices needed to advance the destinations they represent."

As part of ESTO, travel industry leaders will be collaborating with the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia – Savannah Region, to give-back to the community for a program called ESTO Cares. More than 100 tourism professionals will be assembling  bags containing essential materials for the Scouts to successfully participate in important growth programs and earn badges.

“We are delighted the tourism industry selected the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia for its ESTO Cares project,” says Elizabeth A. Brown, community engagement manager, Savannah Region. “Volunteers are the reason our programs are successful. Collaborating with the travel industry is fitting given the scope of the two projects.”

Adjacent to ESTO, the U.S. Travel Association will hold a “Travel Works for America” roundtable event on Monday, August 21 with Congressman Buddy Carter, with media availability at approximately 11:40 a.m. at the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort. Interviews will be available with leaders of Visit Savannah, U.S. Travel Association, Explore Georgia and Congressman Buddy Carter, among others.

Activities include:

• 8:30 a.m. – Welcome remarks from conference hosts Visit Savannah and President Joseph Marinelli, along with the City of Savannah's Mayor Van Johnson and U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman. 

• 10 a.m. – Savannah pop-up shop featuring locally made products. 

For a complete list of ESTO’s educational sessions and events, please click here. For more information, contact Erica Backus at 912.704.3500 or [email protected] or Greg Staley at U.S. Travel Association at 817.996.2227 or [email protected].