Paducah CVB Honored as Tourism for Tomorrow Shining Example

The Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) received the 2014 Tourism for Tomorrow Shining Example Award from Southeast Tourism Society (STS) for the organization’s leadership in pursuing UNESCO Creative Cities designation as a sustainable tourism development strategy.

The Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) received the 2014 Tourism for Tomorrow Shining Example Award from Southeast Tourism Society (STS) for the organization’s leadership in pursuing UNESCO Creative Cities designation as a sustainable tourism development strategy.

Paducah CVB Executive Director Mary Hammond and Marketing Director Laura Schaumburg accepted the award from STS President and CEO Bill Hardman at the STS Fall Forum in Charleston, South Carolina on October 15, 2014.

"The Shining Example Award winners have produced some of the best tourism promotion work in the nation. They truly are shining examples for other tourism professionals," said STS President and CEO Bill Hardman.

Tourism for Tomorrow selection signifies an organization’s significant contributions to the community and to the tourism industry in how it promotes development while safeguarding local culture. Paducah CVB led the City’s bid for UNESCO Creative City of Crafts & Folk Art designation to position the destination as a world leader. The United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Paducah, Kentucky the world’s seventh City of Crafts & Folk Art in the a UNESCO Creative Cities Network in November 2013.

Expansion of the Paducah School of Art & Design was an example within the nomination. “Given the Paducah School of Art and Design’s role in positioning the city for the UNESCO designation, we are pleased to benefit from the recognition while moving forward with the projections for an expanded campus and public programs made within the initial application,” said Dean Paul Aho. “It boosts our credibility in launching new programs and workshop programs designed to attract international audiences to Paducah, boosting cultural tourism and enhancing economic development within the region.”

The Creative Cities Network has enhanced the City’s authority to share cultural assets and create partnerships on a global scale. Since the 2013 designation, the Tentmakers of Cairo (located down river from Creative City Aswan) have exhibited and demonstrated at Paducah’s QuiltWeek®, the band, JoyCut from Bologna, Italy (City of Music) performed at Paducah’s Maiden Alley Cinema and major media outlets around the world have written about Paducah’s creative economy.  The UNESCO designation is stimulating visitor response and driving sustainable tourism development that will preserve the local culture.

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