Best Idea Program*
The WVisit Albuquerque’s “Best Idea” honors Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVBs) that use unique, creative, and innovative approaches to marketing, managing, and operating a CVB. The winners were announced at the WVisit Albuquerque Annual Conference and Vendor Showcase in Ontario, California on October 15th. The Visit Albuquerque was recognized as having a “Best Idea” for the “My Story is Written in Albuquerque” idea, a civic pride campaign that aimed to engage Albuquerque residents in sharing and appreciating all that Albuquerque has to offer. The goal of the campaign was to ensure that the Visit Albuquerque capitalizes on the power of the word-of-mouth marketing of the hundreds of thousands of Albuquerque ambassadors living in the City. There were 25 entrants for this award and the Visit Albuquerque was one of four CVBs to be recognized. This is the second “Best Idea” recognition that the Visit Albuquerque has received in the last three years.
Gold Service Award
For over 30 years, Meetings and Conventions Magazine readers have been honoring CVBs with the Gold Award. The Gold Service Award is given to select CVBs dedicated to meeting professionals with excellent professionalism and service. The Visit Albuquerque is thrilled to accept this award for the 15th time and for the 8th consecutive year. The Visit Albuquerque was inducted into the Meetings and Conventions Magazine Hall of Fame for service in 2008, after receiving the award 12 times.
Pinnacle Award
The Visit Albuquerque was also awarded the Pinnacle Award from Successful Meetings Magazine. This is the 13th year that the readers of Successful Meetings Magazine have recognized the Visit Albuquerque for standing out in hospitality excellence. The Pinnacle Award recognizes CVBs, hotels, conference centers and others in the travel and tourism industry for setting the standard in hospitality. This recognition is one of the most prestigious hospitality awards in the industry, often being compared to other travel rankings such as the AAA 5-Diamond. What sets the Pinnacle Award in such high esteem is that it is voted upon by over 50,000 of Successful Meetings Magazine readers: people in the travel/tourism industry who vote based on their personal experiences with those hotels, conference centers, CVBs, etc. The Pinnacle Award has been recognizing outstanding travel/tourism organizations for 27 years.
“I am extremely proud to be associated with such a professional and creative team,” said Dale Lockett, President/CEO of the Visit Albuquerque. “Being recognized in our industry says we’re staying on top of the consumer marketing trends and continuing to excel in customer service.”