The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association
International (HSMAI) will recognize
the Saratoga Convention & Tourism Bureau
with a Bronze Adrian Award for public relations
excellence for its winning entry in the
58th annual Adrian Awards, said to be the
largest and most prestigious travel marketing
competition globally.
This year’s contest garnered more than
1,200 entries from around the world, with
entries judged by top executives throughout
the industry, according to HSMAI.
The campaign for which the Saratoga
Convention Bureau is being recognized is
the 2014 Saratoga Chowderfest.
This annual event was first organized in
1998 and is held each year in late January
or early February. Its original intent was
to bring visitors and patrons to Saratoga
businesses during an otherwise quiet time
of the year.
The Tourism Bureau said the first year saw
less than 10 restaurants participate and drew
a few hundred visitors downtown. Through
steady growth in marketing and added resources,
the bureau has grown this event
into one of Saratoga’s largest annual events.
The 2014 Chowderfest saw over 30,000 people
enjoying all types of chowder from 86 participating
businesses (both numbers were
all-time records).
The 2015 version took place Jan. 31.
“We are absolutely honored to receive this
recognition by HSMAI and our peers in the
hospitality industry,” said Todd Garofano,
president of the Saratoga Convention & Tourism
Bureau. “Our staff, and this community,
works so hard each year to keep Saratoga
vibrant and the economy strong during the
winter months.
“You really can’t call it an off-season anymore.
Visitors came from Montreal, Boston,
New York City, New Jersey and everywhere in
between. They stayed in our hotels, shopped
downtown and, of course, enjoyed our restaurants
and bars. You have to remember that
this is largely an outdoor event in February.
So to have 30,000-plus people come to this
event is amazing.”
HSMAI will pay tribute to the Saratoga
Convention & Tourism Bureau during the annual
HSMAI Adrian Awards Gala, a black-tie
affair attended by more than 1,000 hospitality,
travel and tourism marketing executives
at the New York Marriott Marquis on Feb. 23.
“We are continually amazed by the creativity
of the Adrian Award submissions,”
said Fran Brasseux, HSMAI executive vice
president. “We saw imaginative campaigns
that got results in all categories, and we’re
excited about honoring this year’s Adrian
Award winners in February.”
Visit www.AdrianAwards.com for more
information on the event and competition.
HSMAI is an individual membership organization
comprising more than 7,000 members
worldwide, with 40 chapters in the Americas
Region.
The mission of the Saratoga Convention
and Tourism Bureau is to market and promote
Saratoga Springs and Saratoga County as a
world-class destination for meetings, conventions
and special events. For information on
how to schedule or plan a meeting, conference,
convention, wedding, sports tournament of
special event in Saratoga, visit the Saratoga
Convention and Tourism Bureau website at
www.discoversaratoga.org.