BATON ROUGE- More than 200 tourism professionals are expected in Baton Rouge Monday for the start of the Southeast Tourism Society's 2016 Spring Symposium.

The annual event discusses different approaches that a city can take to expand its tourism market.

"We are very excited to have so many tourism professionals in Louisiana's capital city," Visit Baton Rouge President Paul Arrigo said in a press release.

This year's symposium will focus on culinary tourism. On Tuesday, the conference will feature a culinary panel consisting of local celebrity chefs, restaurant owners and television personalities.

The Southeast Tourism Society was founded in 1983 and is dedicated to developing the tourism industry in southern states. The society consists of tourism officials in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.