Convention & Visitors Bureau Destination And Golf Guide Wins Highest Destination Marketing Award For The Third Straight Year

SOUTHERN PINES, NC – JUNE 12, 2007 – The Convention & Visitors Bureau was honored with two top Destination Marketing Achievement Awards at the North Carolina Association of Convention & Visitor's Bureau's (NCACVB) Annual Awards Banquet on Thursday, June 7, 2007 in Winston-Salem, NC.

The CVB received the association's highest honor, a Platinum Award in the category of Primary Marketing Publication, for the 2007 Destination & Golf Guide, and another Platinum Award in the Leisure Print Advertising Category for the “Stop Dreaming about It” campaign. “Recognition of our destination marketing efforts by experts in the field validates our branding efforts resonate and are paying off,” said Caleb Miles, President & CEO of the Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We're very appreciative of NCACVB and the tremendous job they do to identify the best in field.”

The Destination & Golf Guide, the area's official visitor guide is distributed at North Carolina Welcome Centers and AAA offices throughout the southeast. It is available free of charge for visitors, and compiles a vast amount of information, including lodging and golf package rates. Easy to read, it features color-coded sections and maps, and coverage of area shopping, restaurants and other attractions. The CVB created the publication with the collaboration and creative execution of advertising agency Bouvier Kelly of Greensboro, NC. “None of these programs or awards would be possible without the hundreds of hospitality businesses here that provide exceptional service to the one million visitors that select our area annually. They make the Home of American Golf what it is today,” said Miles. Tourism is one of the major drivers of the local economy for the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen area, generating in excess of $326 million annually.

NCACVB is an association of nearly 40 destination cities and counties, dedicated to the promotion of travel, tourism and meetings. The awards program was created to honor and showcase the best in destination marketing efforts by members of the Association that come from across the entire State of North Carolina. Each entry is evaluated on its own merit and its demonstrated success in achieving the stated objectives. Judges consist of CVB and other tourism-marketing professionals from other states. The Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area competes with the largest and most popular destinations in the North Carolina, including Charlotte, Raleigh and Asheville, and has been awarded seven platinum awards over the past four years.

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The Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is an economic development organization and non-profit authority of Moore County, North Carolina. The CVB mission is to promote the area as a destination for visitors, meetings, conventions and tours. The CVB is funded primarily by a three percent hotel / motel room occupancy tax paid by visitors to Moore County.