New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau Receives Six National and International Travel Industry Awards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Jenn Lotz or Kelly Schulz
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jlotz@neworleanscvb.com
kschulz@neworleanscvb.com     
                                                                                                                                                    

New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau Receives Six National and International Travel Industry Awards
Meeting and travel planners honor New Orleans CVB with five awards for outstanding customer service and programs

CVB President Stephen Perry receives World Travel Market Globe Award for leadership post-Katrina

NEW ORLEANS - November 8, 2012 - The New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) has been named one of the best CVBs in the world for outstanding customer service, destination marketing expertise and its leadership in restoring tourism post-Katrina. The CVB honors coincide with the City of New Orleans receiving a 2012 World Tourism Award for "the extraordinary initiatives by individuals, companies, organizations, destinations and attractions for outstanding accomplishments in the travel industry."

Fred Sawyers, Complex General Manager of the Hilton New Orleans Riverside and Doubletree by Hilton New Orleans and Chairman of the Board for the New Orleans CVB, said, "The CVB Board of Directors is extremely proud of Stephen Perry and his team for these international accolades. No other CVB president in the country has received more leadership awards in recent years than Stephen Perry, which helps put our city at the forefront of national best practices. The fact that Stephen and his team are consistently recognized for outstanding customer service and innovative programs reinforces that New Orleans is setting the national standard for other CVBs to follow."

New Orleans CVB President and CEO Stephen Perry receives a World Travel Market Globe Award
Perry was honored for his instrumental role in restoring the city as a tourism destination following Hurricane Katrina, and his tireless work to return New Orleans to its position as premiere destination through planned events, safe guarding and creating thousands of travel and tourism jobs in the process. Perry's award and the City of New Orleans World Tourism Award were presented this week in London at World Travel Market, the leading global event for the travel industry.

Travel Weekly magazine names CVB's travel agent certification website a Magellan Gold Award winner
New Orleans 4 Agents.com, a website developed by the New Orleans CVB for travel agents to become certified on how to sell New Orleans as a premiere destination, received the 2012 Travel Weekly Magellan Gold Award. These awards, judged by a panel of leading industry professionals, honor premier travel destinations, businesses in the tourism industry and the travel professionals that promote them. Winners were published in Travel Weekly's October issue.

New Orleans CVB inducted into Meetings and Conventions (M&C) magazine Hall of Fame  Meetings and Conventions has consistently honored the New Orleans CVB for excellence since 1984. Now the New Orleans CVB is renowned as a Hall of Fame inductee for Gold Service recognition. Subscribers of M & C vote annually to highlight the work of tourism officials across the country.

Successful Meetings magazine presents the New Orleans CVB with 2012 CVB, DMO, and Tourist Board award
The New Orleans CVB was ranked one of the top CVBs in the South Eastern United States, marking the 21^st time the CVB received this honor. Winners were chosen by Successful Meetings' readers, an audience of more than 50,000 of the industry's most influential critics and analysts. Meeting and event planners combined their expertise with experiences in industry relations to nominate and vote on prospective CVBs and tourism bureaus.

Corporate & Incentive Travel magazine recognizes New Orleans CVB for Distinctive Achievement
More than 40,000 meeting professionals who subscribe to Corporate & Incentive Travel vote via open ballot to determine the best of the nation's tourism industry. Superior service and support, promotional assistance, and coordination and liaison with local attractions are a few of the qualities readers recognized as exceptional in New Orleans. A special issue of Corporate & Incentive Travel magazine dedicated to the winners will be published this month.

Smart Meetings magazine presents a 2012 Platinum Choice Award to New Orleans CVB
The Platinum Choice Awards recognize excellence in service and amenities among meeting facilities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Winners of a unique category dedicated to destination and convention and visitors bureaus in North America were rated by Smart Magazine readers, made up of meeting professionals. The New Orleans CVB set exemplary standards in various categories, including ambience, amenities, resources, guest services, meeting space and packages, recreation and dining.

The New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau is a nationally accredited, 1,100-member destination marketing organization and the largest and most successful private economic development corporation in Louisiana. The CVB and its members influence thousands of decision-makers and millions of visitors to choose New Orleans through direct sales, marketing, public relations, branding and visitor services at our New Orleans headquarters and offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago, Phoenix and four foreign countries. Consistently recognized as one of the top five CVBs in the country, the New Orleans CVB celebrated its 52nd anniversary in 2012. For more information, please visit http://www.neworleanscvb.com/.

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