Experience Kissimmee Receives Travel Honor

March 28, 2017

The U.S. Travel Association Monday announced Experience Kissimmee as the winner of its 2017 Grassroots Travel Champion Award.

U.S. Travel will present the award on March 28 at the association’s Destination Capitol Hill — the travel and tourism industry’s premier legislative fly-in event dedicated to educating policymakers about the power of travel, providing a forum for travel leaders to meet with members of Congress in Washington and showcasing the industry as one of America’s strongest economic sectors.

“It is an honor to be receiving this award from the U.S. Travel Association,” said Experience Kissimmee President and CEO D.T. Minich. “They have been a huge advocate for our industry over the years and I truly enjoy assisting them in these endeavors. I have been in the travel industry my entire career, and this is a very special recognition.”

In 2016, Minich was instrumental in facilitating meetings for U.S. Travel representatives with staff from both presidential campaigns, as well as Florida congressional candidates. He served as the “Travel ’16” spokesperson in Florida, publishing an op-ed in the Orlando Sentinel encouraging the new administration and Congress to embrace travel-friendly policies. Recently, Minich helped U.S. Travel organize Travel Talks roundtables with members of Congress and the local travel industry, including an upcoming meeting with Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL).

Throughout the debate over Open Skies policy, as well, Experience Kissimmee has been a vocal supporter of our nation’s Open Skies agreements, highlighting the impact these important aviation agreements have on central Florida.

“Our ‘Travel ’16’ campaign in Florida would not have been nearly as successful without D.T. and his team,” said U.S. Travel President and CEO Roger Dow. “Even after the general election, Experience Kissimmee continues to play an integral part in our efforts to promote travel priorities and build relationships with lawmakers in Florida, a state where more than 1.4 million people are employed by the travel industry.

“All of their phenomenal work last year, combined with their constant willingness to engage with travel-related issues at the local, state and federal level, made D.T. and Experience Kissimmee stand out as this year’s Grassroots Travel Champion award winner.”

Learn more about U.S. Travel’s Grassroots Travel Champion award here.

www.ustravel.org

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