Chattanooga Tourism Summit

What to Expect

According to the latest data, Hamilton County hosts more than 15 million visitors each year who spend $1.5 billion in our community. On an average day, that’s 43,000 visitors spending $4.1 million; 15,000 of those visitors stay the night in our hotels. That's the present--what will this look like in the future?

This year's Chattanooga Tourism Summit dives into big data and what it tells us about the future of tourism. Featuring a keynote from Paul Ouimet, Partner and President of MMGY NextFactor and Managing Director of DestinationNext. The programming includes comments from Chief Executive Officer Barry White; exhibitor showcase; live local entertainment; and post-summit professional development sessions.

Agenda

Tuesday, September 26 | Chattanooga Convention Center

11:00-11:45 a.m.
Exhibitor Showcase and live entertainment 

11:45 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Lunch & Main Program – Hear the State of the Travel and Tourism industry in Hamilton County followed by the keynote, Paul Ouimet, Partner and President of MMGY NextFactor and Managing Director of DestinationNext. 

1:15-2:00 p.m. 
Concurrent Breakout Sessions. Breakout sessions are included in registration.

Meet the Keynote Speaker

Paul Ouimet

Ouimet was one of three founding partners of InterVISTAS Consulting Inc. in 1997. For 20 years, he played a major role in building it into a multinational company specializing in aviation, transportation, and tourism. Ouimet has successfully delivered strategic and tourism master plans for destination marketing organizations (DMOs), governments, non-profit organizations, hotels, and airports worldwide. Additionally, he has facilitated over 300 planning retreats and led several significant community consultation and engagement processes.

In 2015, Ouimet transitioned to the role of Executive Consultant at InterVISTAS and established MMGY NextFactor. During the past six years, he led the team that developed and delivered DestinationNext, an important initiative on the future of DMOs that was ranked one of the top 10 biggest developments in the global tourism industry in 2015 by Skift. Ouimet and his team have now completed more than 200 detailed assessments of destinations globally, and he has spoken worldwide on this new strategic roadmap for the DMO industry.

📸 2022 Chattanooga Tourism Summit Memories

Thank you for making last year's event a success! We look forwarding to seeing you again this year.