Staunton Tourism wins two state awards

The Staunton Convention & Visitor Bureau (CVB) is pleased to announce that it has received two statewide tourism awards.

The Virgo Travel & Tourism Awards Program is organized by the Virginia Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (VACVB). Each year, the bureau recognizes exemplary tourism efforts by destination marketing professionals.

“The Virgo Awards showcase the state’s best work in local travel and tourism marketing and operations, and set creative examples for others in the industry to follow,” says Brian Gorg, Operations Manager for the VACVB.

Staunton won the “Best in Show – Peer Judged” category, which is voted on by travel industry peers statewide. VACVB’s panel of judges also selected Staunton as the winner in the category of “Advertising/promotions for DMOs with budgets under $1 million: online and e-marketing.”

“It’s exciting,” says Sheryl Wagner, Director of Tourism for the City of Staunton. “We’ve got a very creative and dynamic team already in place, plus we’ve got some new initiatives underway that will strategically target our tourism marketing efforts even more.”

“For the past five years, VACVB’s awards program has been honoring the best and brightest ideas in tourism,” says Gorg. “The judges gave Staunton high marks for its strong brand identity, cohesive online messaging, pay-per-click success, e-newsletters, and social networking marketing.”

“People tend to research and make their travel decisions online, so e-marketing continues to be an important element of the city’s tourism strategy,” says Kathy Moore, President of Moore Public Relations, a consulting firm that works with Visit Staunton. “Strategic investments in travel promotion can jump start a positive cycle of local economic benefits for the city – increased visibility leads to more travel interest, which leads to more visitors, which translates into more visitor spending,” says Moore.

“For online destination marketing to work well and truly sustain momentum, it builds on an authentic sense of place, pride, and passion. The successes we’ve been seeing point to a growing constituency of visitors and residents who really believe in Staunton and want to share what they’ve experienced,” says Wagner.

This marks the second time in three years that the Staunton CVB has won the “Best in Show” award. In 2012, Staunton won for its integrated marketing, advertising and public relations campaign, “Love the Local Vibe.”

The VIRGO Tourism & Travel Awards were presented earlier this month at The Virginia Association of Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Spring Meeting in Loudoun County.

The Staunton Convention & Visitors Bureau is a destination marketing organization whose primary responsibility is to positively impact Staunton’s economy through visitor expenditures. Staunton’s marketing plan includes a mix of digital and print advertising, supported by aggressive public relations and social media campaigns.