Gatlinburg Press Releases

The Gatlinburg Department of Tourism was selected as the 2011 CVB of the Year by the Southeast Tourism Society at its 2011 Annual Meeting on November 9 in New Orleans.
Gatlinburg won the Shining Example Award for Convention and Visitors Bureau of the Year for Category 2, open to destination marketing organizations with revenues between $2 and $5 million.
The 2011 Shining Example Awards program was part of the 28th annual fall meeting of STS this week at Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans. The prestigious award recognizes Gatlinburg DOT’s considerable contributions to the community and the tourism industry as a whole.
“The Gatlinburg Department of Tourism and Convention Center is proud to receive the Shining Example Award from the Southeast Tourism Society,” said City Manager Cindy Cameron Ogle. “It shows that our collective efforts and programs within the community to improve and advance tourism in Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky Mountains have been successful.”
Gatlinburg recently launched its “You’ve Never Been Closer” creative campaign. During the last year, it has developed co-op, online and guerilla marketing and public relations strategies with its partners, Fahlgren Mortine (advertising), Paramore (online marketing) and Peritus (public relations).
The STS Shining Example Awards recognize those that have advanced the cause of travel and tourism in the Southeastern states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia & West Virginia. Shining Example Awards, a fixture since 1985, are presented in 13 categories.
“Shining Example Awards highlight some of the best work in travel and tourism, and winners truly set examples that others in the industry can follow,” said STS President and CEO Bill Hardman. “Showcasing great work is important because tourism is the largest, second-largest or third-largest industry in every Southeastern state.”