On August 19-31, 2023, Visit The Woodlands attended the Texas Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (TACVB) annual conference in College Station. While there, Visit The Woodlands' Director of Sales, Josie Lewis, moderated a panel about sales in Texas tourism, and Visit The Woodlands was recognized in the TACVB Destination Excellence Awards.
Visit The Woodlands received a Peer Recognition award in the Community and Local Engagement Promotion category for the new print and online publication, #SoWoodlands.
TACVB's Destination Excellence Awards are judged by a panel of industry experts, along with other members of TACVB. Industry peers who are members of TACVB have an opportunity to vote for winners and runners up in each category to receive Peer Recognition awards. Other categories include Website Design & Effectiveness, Meetings & Conventions Promotion, and Leisure/Tourism Marketing Campaigns. The Community and Local Engagement Promotion category focused on an event or promotion that was geared towards a local audience and supported the local community and residents.
Visit The Woodlands' publication, #SoWoodlands, was developed to increase awareness in the local community and further establish relationships with residents, local business-owners, and Visit The Woodlands partners. It features stories about members of the community in The Woodlands, ranging from business owners to hotel managers.
The first issue of #SoWoodlands was published (in print and online) in November 2022, with subsequent issues published once a quarter. The articles in the print publication are also published on the #SoWoodlands microsite, and QR codes are included in the print publication to encourage readers to visit the website and read longer versions of the print articles. The articles published on the microsite have received nearly 3,000 pageviews since November 2022.
"It's very exciting that our new publication was recognized by peers in our industry during the TACVB Destination Excellence Awards," said Nick Wolda, President of Visit The Woodlands. "The people behind businesses and events in The Woodlands are a large part of what makes our destination so unique, and we're grateful that we get to share their stories in #SoWoodlands."
An online version of the second issue of #SoWoodlands is available to read here, and the third issue is available to read here.
To receive a print copy of #SoWoodlands in the mail, subscribe here.