Denton named elite tourism professional

NATURAL BRIDGE - An individual from Winston County has been named a North Alabama Elite Tourism Professional, a program of the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association (AMLA) where tourism employees demonstrating outstanding customer service and hospitality in the 16-county North Alabama region are recognized in celebration of National Travel and Tourism Week.
 
In Winston County, Dennis Denton of Natural Bridge of Alabama has been named a North Alabama Elite Tourism Professional for his contributions to the tourism industry. He was presented with a Wal-Mart gift card from AMLA representatives.
 
May is National Tourism Month, and the North Alabama Elite Tourism Professional recognition is part of the 36th annual National Travel and Tourism Week, which unites communities across the country to celebrate how travel matters to American jobs, economic growth and personal well-being. National Travel and Tourism Week was celebrated May 5-11 on a theme of “Travel Matters,” a recognition of the innumerable ways in which travel enriches lives and strengthens communities.
 
“The North Alabama Elite Tourism Professional award recognizes those members who go above and beyond in their service, involvement and engagement with visitors to the North Alabama region. North Alabama’s travel and tourism industry is seeing tremendous economic impacts and growth in job numbers as a direct result of Mr. Denton’s leadership skills and commitment to enhancing the travel and tourism experience. I am proud to have this industry leader as part of the North Alabama tourism team and to present him with this prestigious honor,” said AMLA President and CEO Tami Reist.
 
Travel generated $15.5 billion for Alabama’s economy in 2018 and these visitors support over 198,000 American jobs. In North Alabama, the travel industry generated $2.93 billion in tourist expenditures and over 35,000 jobs are supported by travel and tourism. In 2018, more than $954 million of state and local tax revenues were generated by travel and tourism activities. Without those taxes, each household in Alabama would have had to pay $507 in additional taxes to maintain current service levels.
 
For more information on the recognition or the impact of tourism and travel in North Alabama, contact Reist at 800.648.5381.