Pittsboro, NC – The Pittsboro-Siler City Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB), a countywide organization, won a top 2015 award from the Destination Marketing Association of North Carolina (DMANC) for its efforts to market the county as a visitor destination.
The CVB won the Gold Award for Best Website and Online Communications, the highest award for that category.
“We actually won the award late last year, but email issues at the time meant that I did not receive notice of the award,” said Neha Shah, director of the CVB. “We were thrilled to learn that we had, in fact, won a top award.”
County Manager Renee Paschal said, “This award is yet again proof that we have a very successful CVB. It is a very small office that accomplishes more than many larger CVBs and is fully funded by occupancy tax proceeds.”
Paschal said that the CVB is a major reason why Chatham County continues to see annual growth in visitor-related spending. “The latest report, released in August 2015, showed a three percent increase in visitor spending from 2013 to 2014. This generated approximately $570,000 in local sales tax and property tax revenues.”
Shah said that the CVB garnered praise for its engaging website, e-news, and the new social media lounge concept, all key components of a strategic online marketing plan. “The goal was to reach our clients (visitors, media, and film scouts) with current, updated, useful and engaging information.”
The CVB’s website (VisitChathamCounty.com) features, among many other things, a social media lounge, which allows tourists, local community members, media personnel, and visitor-related businesses, to access all of its social media accounts and blogs in a single, organized space.
“We frequently update our social media accounts and web event calendar with visitor-related information, including news about local businesses and upcoming events. We also cross-promote events over our multiple platforms to ensure we’re reaching the largest audience possible,” Shah said.
The CVB’s monthly email newsletter features a concise and easy-to-read format so that readers can quickly learn about current offerings and events. “With all of these online features, we’re able to meet the needs of today’s user while maintaining a personal and direct connection between our audience and the CVB,” Shah reported.
The Destination Marketing Achievement Awards were created to honor and showcase the best in marketing efforts by convention and visitors bureaus throughout the state. Out-of-state tourism marketing professionals and educators serve as judges for the awards competition. The CVB pays no fees to submit award entries for the competition.
The Pittsboro-Siler City Convention & Visitors Bureau is fully funded by the three percent occupancy tax paid by overnight visitors and collected by local lodging facilities. All proceeds of the tax are legally required to be used to promote travel and tourism.