THE CHARLOTTESVILLE ALBEMARLE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU HONORED WITH TRAVEL WEEKLY GOLD MAGELLAN AWARD

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The national publication chooses CACVB’s “Stay”
as favorite in “Destination Marketing – Promotional Video” category

The Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau (CACVB) has been recognized once again for its outstanding marketing efforts.  The organization has received a Travel Weekly Gold Magellan Award for its compelling “Stay” video campaign, crowned best in the “Destination Marketing – Promotional Video” category.

The videos were created by the CACVB’s creative agency Payne Ross & Associates in collaboration with the award-winning local production company Silverthorn Films.  The compelling footage showcases the best that the Charlottesville-Albemarle has to offer as a tourism destination; the beautiful images are enhanced by local musician Dave Matthews’ song “Stay”.

With entries from across the U.S. and around the world, the Magellan Award winners represent the best in the travel industry and salute the outstanding travel professionals behind it all.  Winners will be featured in an upcoming issue of Travel Weekly, which will include a section dedicated to this year's award recipients. Honorees also receive a custom produced statuette made by the same company that produces the Oscar® and Emmy® awards.

The Magellan Awards are judged and overseen by a one-of-a-kind panel of top travel professionals representing the best names and most accomplished leaders from the industry,  such as Peter Greenberg (travel editor of The Early Show – CBS News), Patricia Schultz (author of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die”), and Rudy Maxa (PBS host, “Rudy Maxa’s World”).

Honoring a broad range of industry segments including Hotels and Resorts, Travel Destinations, Cruise Lines, Online Travel Services, Airlines and Airports, Travel Agents and Agencies, Tour Operators and Car Rental Companies, the Magellan is the award to win for person or organization in the business of travel.

“People who enter the Magellans know they’re competing against a very talented and very creative group of individuals and agencies,” said Arnie Weissmann, editor in chief of Travel Weekly. “The travel industry marketers and designers who walked away with Magellan awards this year pushed themselves to new heights. When you look at the winning entries, you understand why consumers have been inspired to travel in numbers never seen before.”

The CACVB’s Executive Director, Kurt Burkhart, is thrilled with this new recognition.  “The success our organization has enjoyed with our marketing campaign is being acknowledged by seasoned industry leaders and this contributes to Charlottesville and Albemarle County’s visibility as an exciting destination,” says Burkhart.  Also worth noting is that the CACVB received, in the last year, a prestigious Platinum Adrian Award from the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International for its social media campaign, in addition to two prestigious awards for “Best Public Relations Initiative” and “Best Online Marketing Campaign” from the Virginia Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus, as well as a W3 Gold Award from International Academy of Visual Arts for “Best Tourism Website,” besting from thousands of entries globally.

Charlottesville and Albemarle County, as a destination, have racked-up numerous accolades that continue to motivate travelers to visit, what is commonly referred to as, Jefferson’s County.  Livability named the destination one of 10 Best College Towns, while Good Housekeeping magazine proclaimed Charlottesville to be the Happiest City in America.  Forbes Magazine named our area the Locavore capital of the world; Go Green Go Travel chose Charlottesville as their #1 destination for agritourism; and Wine Enthusiast Magazine proclaimed Charlottesville as one of America’s 5 New Foodie Cities and Virginia as one of the top 10 wine destinations in the world. With its burgeoning arts and entertainment scene, Charlottesville remains a draw for visitors who attend our array of festivals and events that celebrate music, theater and innovation, not to mention food & wine.  A complete list of accolades can be found here:  http://www.visitcharlottesville.org/media/accolades/ .

Brigitte Bélanger-Warner
Director of Sales & Marketing
Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau
434.970.3632 – warnerb@charlottesville.org

About the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau (CACVB)
In addition to serving as the global resource for marketing the tourism assets of Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia, through www.visitcharlottesville.org, the CACVB assists tour operators, meeting planners, reunions and other groups in planning visits to the destination.  CACVB’s mission is “to enhance the economic prosperity of City and County by promoting, selling and marketing the City of Charlottesville and County of Albemarle, as a destination, in pursuit of the meetings and tourism markets.”  CACVB operates the Downtown Visitor Center (610 E Main St) which is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and a satellite Visitor Center in the Albemarle County Office Building (401 McIntire Rd) which is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., as well as a touch-screen kiosk at Monticello’s Thomas Jefferson Visitor Center.

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