Tourism Development
Let Customer Service Coach Rita Suiter show you how to make your destination shine! Just call (229) 563-7482 or email Rita for details.
In the travel and tourism industry, the “product” is the promise of an experience. The message? “Come visit us, and we’ll treat you to a memorable experience that will make you want to come back for more!”
Rita Suiter helps communities, destinations and regional attractions leverage their tourism assets with exceptional service that creates raving fans.
She was a pioneer in destination marketing in Georgia, starting the Valdosta Convention & Visitors Bureau from scratch and helping to put the “Azalea City” on the map as a tourism community. Working with multiple stakeholders — from garden clubs to state agencies — Rita led a collaborative effort that included creating a nonprofit Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) funded with hotel occupancy taxes.
Identify Tourism Inventory — Brand Resources — Drive Exceptional Visitor Experiences
Rita provides ongoing tourism-related business contacts, industry education and legislative awareness. Entities from Pigeon Forge to Visit Mobile have turned to Rita for assistance with marketing material, trade shows and promotion through state welcome centers.
Rita also serves as a “mystery shopper” — shopping hotels, restaurants, spas, casinos, golf operations, and other destinations and attractions — for a visitor’s-eye view of service delivery.
Meet the Professor
Rita is a long-time Instructor for the Southeast Tourism Society’s Marketing College, the premier educational program for the Southeastern tourism industry held each summer at the University of North Georgia. Some of her most-popular courses include:
> Reorganizing, Redirecting & Refocusing Your Destination Marketing Vision
> Polishing Your Service Strategy
> Rekindling Your Service Delivery
> Selling Your Community
> Professionalism in the Workplace
> Humanizing the Customer Experience
> Exceptionalizing Your Service
Rita has presented workshops to:
- Convention & visitor associations
- Statewide travel associations
- State welcome centers
- State parks
- Tourism conferences
Click on The Group Travel Leader logo for an article about the STS Marketing College, published in September 2019.
Promote Your Homegrown Attractions
Rita has a passion for telling agriculture’s story and helping organizations promote their agritourism assets — from starting an agritourism enterprise to welcoming folks looking for some fun on the farm:
- Served on the Georgia Grown Symposium planning committee – 2019
- Conducted “Keeping Your Agritourism Farm Fresh” workshop – 2019
- Presented on “Customer Service” and “Working with the Media” at UGA Agritourism Workshop – 2019
- Presented at the Southeast Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association – 2019
- Served on the board of the Georgia Agritourism Association – 2016-2018
- Marketing & Training Coordinator, Mercier Orchards – 2016-2019
