Visit Delaware wins prestigious Adrian Award for new travel guide

The Delaware Tourism Office (Visit Delaware) has received for the first time a coveted Adrian Award, the largest and most prestigious global travel marketing honor.

The award, often described as the Oscar of the travel world, comes to Delaware for the most recent edition of the Official State Travel Guide, which was released in May. Visit Delaware joins tourism offices in major travel markets, including California, North Carolina, Utah, Orlando, Las Vegas, Seattle and more, as recipients of Adrians.

“We are beyond thrilled to receive this award,” said Linda Parkowski, former Delaware Tourism Director (currently Deputy Director of the Delaware Division of Small Business, Development and Tourism). “The guide epitomizes the tourism office’s customer-centric philosophy, which has worked so well to help grow out-of-state visitation and better position Delaware as a preferred travel destination.”

The travel guide was part of the complete realization of a rebranding effort for Visit Delaware launched in 2015. Since then the state has also produced extremely successful television commercials, print advertisements and more. Last summer FutureBrand, an international brand consulting firm, released an independent study showing Delaware has one of the top two most effective statewide tourism brands in the nation.

The guide features inspirational photography, immersive layouts and informational content created based directly on feedback from Delaware’s target tourism audience, as part of the tourism office’s consumer-centric philosophy.

“We have an outstanding tourism office in Delaware and this award is even more evidence of the great work done by that team,” said Sec. Jeff Bullock. “The guide is beautiful, it highlights the best of the state, and it’s a great asset to Delaware’s $3.1 billion tourism industry. Travelers who are better informed will do more, see more and have an even more positive impact on the state economy.”

Free copies of the guide are available at state travel plazas and welcome centers, airports and rest areas around the region and consumer trade shows. The guide is also available online at www.visitdelaware.com/travel-guide.

The Delaware Tourism Office, 99 Kings Highway in Dover, Del., part of the Delaware Division of Small Business, Development & Tourism, promotes tourism and economic growth in Delaware. For more information, visit the official Delaware Tourism website at www.visitdelaware.com or call toll-free (866) 284-7483.

The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is committed to growing business for hotels and their partners, and is the industry’s leading advocate for intelligent, sustainable hotel revenue growth. The association provides hotel professionals & their partners with tools, insights, and expertise to fuel sales, inspire marketing, and optimize revenue through programs such as HSMAI ROCET, Adrian Awards, and Revenue Optimization Conference. HSMAI is a membership organization comprising more than 7,000 members worldwide, with 40 chapters in the Americas Region. Connect with HSMAI at www.hsmai.org, www.facebook.com/hsmai, www.twitter.com/hsmai and www.youtube.com/hsmai1.

Media Contact:
Michael Chesney
Communications Director
Michael.Chesney@delaware.gov
(302) 943-9508 (cell) (302) 577-8472 (office)