BIRMINGHAM, AL (March 2019) – Joseph Dabbs, Senior Director at Advance Travel & Tourism has completed the three-year program of the Southeast Tourism Society Marketing College and earned certification as a Travel Marketing Professional (TMP).

Dabbs has been a part of the leadership team at Alabama Media Group since 2012. His association with Alabama Media Group and more recently, Advance Travel & Tourism has been instrumental in Alabama Media Group’s recognition and growth in digital marketing throughout the Southeast. His passion for travel and digital marketing led him to develop an exclusive team that focuses on destination marketing digital strategies to help reach the traveler who is dreaming, planning and booking their next trip.

Joseph’s Birmingham-based family includes his wife, Amanda, and 3 children who all share his adventuresome spirit, his love of travel, and his passion for biking and hiking.

Dabbs was among 62 STS Marketing College graduates in the Class of 2018. The graduates were announced at the STS Connections conference in Daytona Beach, Fla., earlier this month. The Class of 2018 had members from all 12 states in Southeast Tourism Society. The program began in 1992 and has produced 1,154 TMPs.

STS Marketing College uses facilities at the University of North Georgia at Dahlonega for three one-week sessions each spring. Tourism industry professionals from a variety of tourism sectors volunteer their time to teach all classes. They include convention and visitors bureau executives, public relations practitioners, sales and marketing consultants and research experts.

“STS absolutely is enhancing the professional skills of people throughout the Southeast and elevates the tourism industry,” said Monica Smith, president and CEO of STS. “Earning TMP certification is a challenging combination of classroom work and special projects in the students’ workplaces. Becoming a TMP takes dedication.”

Study topics include tourism advertising, vacation research, crisis management, special events marketing, media relations, heritage tourism, tourism sales and community/rural tourism. In addition to classroom work, students must complete projects that relate to their employment.

“The Southeast Tourism Society is the marquee organization in the southeast for any travel professional to be affiliated with.” said Dabbs. ” “The four pillars that STS stand for – Education, Advocacy, Recognition and Networking each help facilitate a specific area of our industry. By learning from other professionals within the industry has given me and my team a better overall understanding of the industry and helps us be better partners for our clients.”

About Southeast Tourism Society (STS)
Headquartered in Roswell, Georgia, STS is an association that works to unite all segments of the travel and tourism industry through its four pillars of education, advocacy, recognition, and networking. Established in 1983, STS is an engaged network of 1000+ members from twelve states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.  For more information, visit SoutheastTourism.org