Meeting News - December 3, 2007 - (Page 22)

Newsmaker Q + A Stephen Richer leaves Gulf Coast for policy-making job After more than a decade of service at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau— which included weathering Hurricane Katrina— executive director Stephen Richer is stepping down. The move is largely being characterized as a retirement in exchange for a consulting gig with the National Tour Association. But to listen to Richer, as MeetingNews did late last month, it seems that the new position is going to be a full-time challenge. Many tour operators organize meetings; you can’t put people in square holes anymore. The travel industry includes meetings, incentives, and other types of group travel—we need to think more broadly. Q A Q A Does NTA have a role in the meeting industry? Between 500,000 and a million volunteers have come in the last two years, and they’re still coming. [A group called Tourism Cares held its annual conference on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 2006 and that got the destination a lot of exposure.] Everyone in travel industry marketing wants to capture people’s hearts because if they love a destination, they will come back. We’ve done that because our visitors’ tears of sweat are here. I’m “retiring” from this job for a new one. NTA approached me because its government relations person is retiring and I’ve been on the board three different times; the association said I’m the best guy in the country to take the job. In addition to working on government relations, and working with the 550 tour operator members, I’ll work with hotels, destinations, restaurants, entertainment companies, and casinos—something I have a lot of experience doing. Plus, both my sons and some relatives are in the New York/New Jersey area so I can see them while implementing visions I have for the industry. At the same time, I will keep my home [which needed major repair after Hurricane Katrina], now that I ﬁxed it, $300,000 later, because I like the area. Q A Why are you retiring from the bureau and going to the NTA? How did being at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau during Hurricane Katrina, and in the aftermath, change you personally and professionally? Personally, it had the most dramatic impact you can imagine. From people who sent supplies—like food, clothing, blankets, and more—to volunteers who came to put in lawns, build parks, and ﬁx roofs, I’ve never seen such an outpouring of kindness. People of all different backgrounds helped, regardless of the backgrounds of those who needed assistance. That kind of experience changes your value system and reinforces the importance of kindness to your fellow human being. Professionally, when the storm came, we had to figure out what we had to sell and who would Q A What do you hope to accomplish in your new role? NTA has a great perspective on how to grow the travel industry in the United States and Canada. The association is looking to bring travel to people and Stephen Richer to work with other partners— including other countries—to Executive Director make travel easier. We support the MS Gulf Coast CVB Travel Promotion Act of 2007 (see p. 1) and we’re working on the issues of customs and immigration, come. We lost some of our fundvisas, and on creating a “voluntourism” program ing because the county had so many emergencies, with the National Parks Service. so we decided to market to volunteers as tourists. After all, they bought meals, went shopping, etc. 22 MeetingNews December 3, 2007 can’t put people in square holes anymore. The travel industry includes meetings, incentives, and more— we need to think more broadly. “Many tour operators organize meetings; you When I got here in 1996, I always got right to business as soon as a conversation started, and I always came to work in a jacket and tie. The late Billy Creel, who was then the head of the Harrison County Tourism Commission, which runs the bureau, came in one day and asked why I wore a jacket and tie. He said, “You’re in a resort, you need to relax! Why don’t you wear a golf or polo shirt, like our whole company does?” And, he said, “By the way, I have other interests besides tourism, you ought to talk to people about their humanity before you discuss other stuff. That’s how to make friends around here.” Now, our new positioning statement is: “Relax, we’re the Mississippi Gulf Coast.” So it took us 12 years to get back to that message, but Billy had it right all along. We’re in the business of helping people relax and get away, and of taking care of people. That’s a lesson anyone in the business can beneﬁt from. What does the future hold for the Mississippi Gulf Coast? Q A What experience did you learn the most from, and what were the lessons? Q A ” Public and private investors have come together— which is unusual—to rebuild the community, and there’s a lot of investment. We think this will become one of the top destinations in the United States. It’s going to be very exciting. H —Interview conducted by Rayna Katz www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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