The Cooperative Partnership award was presented to Worcester County tourism officials from the Maryland Tourism Coalition during the annual Maryland Tourism & Travel Summit in November for the effort to build regional tourism around NASA programs. Pictured, from left, are Wicomico Tourism Manager Steve Miller, Maryland Office of Tourism Executive Director Margot Amelia, Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce Events Director Lisa Dennis, Ocean City Tourism and Marketing Director Donna Abbott, Chamber Executive Director Melanie Pursel, Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association (OCHMRA) Executive Director Susan Jones, Worcester County Tourism Director Lisa Challenger, Ann Hillyer of OceanCity.com and Liz Walk of the OCHMRA. Submitted Photos
BERLIN — Worcester County Tourism (WCT) has announced it and area partners, working together to promote Berlin as America’s coolest small town and to boost space coast tourism, won three awards at the annual Maryland Tourism & Travel Summit in November.
For their Space Coast Tourism Initiative, tourism partners earned the Maryland Tourism Coalition (MTC) Cooperative Partnership award. Partners developed the initiative to build regional tourism around NASA programs and rocket launches and other area activities, as the space program grows. Maryland team partners included WCT,the State Office of Tourism, 4 DMOs (Destination Marketing Organization), Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce, Ocean City Tourism, Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association, Somerset County Tourism, Wicomico County Tourism and Oceancity.com.
The Maryland team worked in cooperation with NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce, Southern Delaware Tourism, Virginia Tourism Corporation, and Eastern Shore of Virginia Tourism Commission. To learn more about the initiative, visit www.wallopsisland.org.
“Our partnership promotes NASA Wallops rocket launches to the traveling public,” WCT Director Lisa Challenger said. “We created a website that includes the launch schedule and viewing sites, things to do, and places to stay. We hope to work with the private sector to offer a variety of travel packages, develop space camps and really promote this initiative.”
For earning the Town of Berlin bragging rights as Budget Travel’s 2014 ‘Coolest Small Town in America’ WCT and Berlin officials won two awards. The first
Pictured accepting the Maryland Tourism Coalition Best Use of Social Media award were, from left, award presenter John Fiesler, Worcester County Tourism Director Lisa Challenger, Berlin Economic Development Director Ivy Wells and presenter Matt Neitzy.
was the MTC for the Best Use of Social Media award. The second was the Maryland Office of Tourism Visit Maryland award, for making an outstanding investment and performance in improving and promoting Maryland’s image as a travel destination, use of new and innovative interactive media and other unique activities with measured proof of performance.