Visit Clarksville Recognized as Leading DMO for 2023
Clarksville, TN – Visit Clarksville was awarded Destination Marketing Organization of the Year (Large) at the Tennessee Governor's Conference on Tourism's Purple Iris Awards held last week in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Judges from Massachusetts, Alaska and Mississippi selected Visit Clarksville as the award winner for activities in the 2023-24 fiscal year. Criteria included how the DMO took initiative to make significant contributions to the destination and community, how the DMO positively impacted the destination and community, how the DMO supports other businesses in the community, and how the DMO excels at customer service.
"On behalf of the Board of Directors, I can tell you that we are so incredibly proud of the work our small-but-mighty staff does every day," said Board of Directors Chairman Charlie Koon. "Most all of their work happens outside of the community – like advertising and promotions in other markets and recruiting sporting events and meetings – to bring overnight guests to Clarksville that support our tax base and our local businesses," he said.
Specifically, the nomination included niche marketing initiatives like girlfriends getaway, romantic weekend, and food campaigns that ran on multiple media platforms in 14 markets last year (increasing direct website traffic by 300%, video views by 690%, and spending from target market visitors by 50-150%), the Challenge Trails local engagement and development program that includes over 300 local places, relaunching the hospitality association for local industry partners, and growth in sports tourism with 15 additional events and a 21% increase in event-related spending by visitors last year.
"Tourism in Montgomery County is a $385 million-plus industry," said Koon. "That's no small feat for a community without a major attraction or a large convention center. We sell an experience that's welcoming, charming, fun and not the 'same-old-same-old' for visitors, and we provide exceptional customer service for our sports and meeting clients. That's what people are traveling for today – those experiences they can't find just anywhere."
About Visit Clarksville
The Clarksville-Montgomery County Tourism Commission was established by the State of Tennessee in 1979 to positively influence tourism in the Clarksville-Montgomery County area by promoting tourist attractions, hosting conventions and group tours, and engaging in large-scale marketing efforts.
In 2015, the organization adopted the Visit Clarksville brand. Visit Clarksville is governed by a nine-member board of directors and is funded by a portion of the local hotel-motel tax.
