Herb Malone, President/ CEO of the Alabama Gulf Coast CVB is among 50 travel industry leaders who will participate in a ceremony on Tuesday (Feb. 24) at the U.S. Department of the Interior to create a regional tourism policy council.

Malone and others from the Southeast Tourism Society will join Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and representatives of eight federal agencies to sign a memorandum of understanding for the Southeast Tourism Policy Council (STPC).

�The goal of the STPC is to look to the future and to help steer public policy in directions that guarantee future generations enjoy what travelers in the Southeast enjoy today,� said Bill Hardman, president of the Southeast Tourism Society. The STPC will function as an arm of the Southeast Tourism Society.

The participating partners scheduled to sign the document are the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of the Army and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

Those agencies affect many aspects of tourism in the Southeast, from transportation and outdoor recreation to historic preservation and visitor programs.

�People in the travel industry in the Southeast are seen as true leaders because they know how to work together for the sake of the whole region.

�Not every region of the nation enjoys that spirit of cooperation, and through the STPC, we have gone an extra step by opening new channels of communication between the public and private sectors,� Hardman said.

STPC advocacy efforts will work to promote sustainable use of public land, provide for resource conservation, stimulate economic development, enhance citizens� quality of life and enhance visitor experiences.

The Southeast Tourism Society, founded in 1983, promotes travel to its member states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

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Media Contact: Bebe Gauntt +1 251-974-1510 bgauntt@gulfshores.com