LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With the re-opening of the downtown convention center, additional hotel room inventory- including 600 rooms from the new Louisville Omni- and well as additional urban distilleries open in the Bourbon District, the tourism industry is welcoming a growing number of annual visitors to Louisville in 2019 and beyond. In a regional collaboration with the Southern Indiana Convention and Tourism Bureau, Louisville Tourism continues its involvement in the nationally-recognized Certified Tourism Ambassador™ (CTA) Network and announces the winter/spring schedule of classes.
The Louisville Tourism Ambassador Program trains applicants using Louisville-specific curriculum, a half-day training session, and an open-book exam covering local history, attractions, events, prominent figures, etc. to be Certified Tourism Ambassadors. The goal is to create consistently knowledgeable and positive interactions with every visitor to the city, thus encouraging repeat business, increasing new visitors and boosting visitor spending.
The CTA courses are open to all residents in Louisville and Southern Indiana and are being strongly promoted within the hospitality community. There is a one-time non-refundable, non-transferable application fee of $45 per person and an annual renewal fee of $30 per person. Among the recently certified ambassadors are Louisville’s hotels from front line to management, TARC Coach Operators, attraction personnel and volunteers and distillery teams.
“Visitors come to Louisville for a variety of reasons, but it is the high level of customer service that keeps them coming back. Participation this program ensures that our front-line service level is on par with all of the updates being made to our tourism infrastructure,” says Karen Williams, President & CEO of Louisville Tourism.
How tourism affects Louisville:
- Louisville welcomes 16.4 million visitors each year – which is the combined population of Michigan and Indiana
- Visitors spend $1.6 billion, which supports $3.4 billion in total economic impact
- Tourism supports 1 in every 15 jobs in the city, which translates to over 27,000 industry jobs
- Tourism tax revenue benefits the 309,175 households in Jefferson County by generating $540 in annual tax savings
Louisville is the twenty-eighth city to join the national CTA Network among Anaheim, Baltimore, Sonoma County, Cincinnati and Columbus. There are over 50,000 frontline employees and volunteers that have been certified nationally.
More information on the program can be found at www.gotolouisville.com/cta.
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Since 1968, Louisville Tourism’s primary goal has been to enhance the area’s economy through tourism development – to promote and sell Louisville as a world-class destination. Tourism is the third largest industry in Louisville generating an estimated economic impact of $3.5 billion which supports over 27,000 local tourism-related jobs. Guests are coming from around the globe to attend a meeting, convention, special event, as a leisure guest or a combination. More than 16.4 million visitors are experiencing Louisville’s authenticity, bourbon and culinary scenes and our unique brand of Southerness.
