SHORES & ISLANDS OHIO, November 15, 2022 --- Shores & Islands Ohio, the destination marketing organization for Erie and Ottawa counties, has recently been honored with awards for their marketing efforts and for contributing to the economic impact in the communities that they represent.
Last month during the Ohio Conference on Travel, sponsored by the Ohio Travel Association, Shores & Islands was honored with two RUBY Awards and three Citation of Excellence Awards. RUBY stands for Recognizing Uncommon Brilliance Yearly and recognizes tourism industry partner’s excellence in advertising, marketing, and public relations. This year’s awards had 184 entries in 17 categories.
The first RUBY Award was received in the Marketing Campaign category for the organization’s new brand and logo launch, which occurred earlier this year and introduced the new name of Shores & Islands Ohio. A second award was received in the Spirit of Community category for the creation of their Destination Development Grant program, which awards funds in Erie and Ottawa counties to projects that attract and engage visitors, serve regional tourism partners, and foster economic growth for their communities and the region.
A Citation of Excellence (runner-up award in a category) was also awarded for Targeted Marketing Campaign – Group Tour Co-Op Postcard, Social Media Campaign – Alyse’s Adventures social media video series, and Event Campaign – promotion of IRONMAN 70.3 Ohio.
Shores & Islands Ohio was also named a recipient of the “Champions of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism” award from Sports Destination Management magazine. The magazine is the leading publication for event planners and tournament directors in the sports tourism market. This award honors events that had a significant economic impact upon the communities where they were hosted including hotel usage and impact on local retail and dining business. Awards were presented according to market size and Shores & Islands won a Small Market Award for the IRONMAN 70.3 Ohio event, hosted in Sandusky this past July, which generated an estimated economic impact of over $5 million for the region.
“It is an honor to receive these awards and to be recognized amongst our peers for our efforts to attract visitors and event planners to our region,” said Christopher Lewis, Director of Marketing and Sales for Shores & Islands Ohio. “This year we implemented a new strategic plan and the entire Shores & Islands Ohio team worked extremely hard with our tourism partners to achieve goals by executing successful campaigns, programs, and events.”
The Shores & Islands Ohio organization markets the region as a great place to live, work, and play. The destination also recently debuted its all-new website at SHORESandISLANDS.com. The website serves as a resource for potential visitors and locals alike, with information on area attractions and events as well as accommodations options.
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