The Historic RailPark and Train Museum, National Corvette Museum and Bowling Green Area Convention and Visitors Bureau received Traverse Awards for Excellence in Tourism Marketing from the Kentucky Travel Industry Association. The awards were presented during the 2021 Kentucky Travel Industry Annual Conference held November 10-12 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Louisville.
The Historic RailPark and Train Museum received two Silver Traverse Awards in the categories of PR Campaign (2021 Railcar Celebration) and Specialty Items (Keepsake Ornaments). They also received three Bronze Traverse Awards in the categories of Video (The Decade that Made Us), Marketing Campaign (2020 UnSeen BG Tours – Murder Mansion) and Print Advertising & Collateral (2021 Birthday Club). “Our passion and excitement for our mission is what drives us to work hard every day,” said Jamie Johnson, director of the Historic RailPark and Train Museum. “The recognition from these awards is certainly a nice pat on the back. The awards are very competitive and makes us that much prouder of our accomplishments.”
The National Corvette Museum received three Bronze Traverse Awards in the categories of Website (corvettemusuem.org), PR Campaign (Preparing for the Next Generation) and COVID-19 Community Support and Engagement (Experiencing the National Corvette Museum From Your Home). "The National Corvette Museum is very grateful to the Kentucky Travel Industry Association for granting us these awards and it would not be possible without the support of our staff, members, donors, sponsors, partners, and more,” said Mariah Hughes, senior media and marketing specialist at the National Corvette Museum. “We would love to invite the community to come and see all of the efforts that we have put into the Museum to ensure that the guests have the best possible experience."
The Bowling Green Area Convention and Visitors Bureau received a Bronze Traverse Award in the category of Digital Marketing for their e-newsletter. “We are so proud of the tourism efforts in Bowling Green,” said Nora Bryant, communications director of the Bowling Green Area CVB. “Marketing and promoting Bowling Green as a travel destination is easy when you live in a city like ours. Our industry partners love what they do and it shows through their work.”
Kentucky travel and tourism businesses and marketing organizations vie for Traverse Awards in 10 categories. The Traverse Awards are judged by a panel of out-of-state travel and tourism industry experts. Award criteria include concept, creativity, results and impact. Over 110 entries were submitted from throughout Kentucky for the competition.
According to KTIA president & CEO Hank Phillips, ”This year’s Traverse Awards are especially significant since they were not presented last year because of the cancellation of our conference due to the coronavirus. Therefore, the awards span a pre-pandemic period as well as the period during which the tourism industry was being devastated by the pandemic economic crisis. Whether before or during the pandemic, the entries reflected the enormous creativity and marketing savvy that has propelled tourism to being a premier driver of the Kentucky economy and the source of jobs and enhanced quality of life for Kentucky families.”
The Kentucky Travel Industry Association represents and serves all segments of Kentucky’s tourism industry, which despite the pandemic’s severe impact, contributed $8.9 billion to Kentucky’s economy in 2020. The 900-member association engages in advocacy and provides its members with education, information and business development opportunities. The association also works to inform the public of the enormous economic, employment and tax revenue contributions tourism makes to the people of Kentucky.