Aspen Chamber Resort Association Awarded Two “Destiny Awards” For Best Destination Website And “Tag Responsibly” Campaign

ASPEN, Colo (August 25, 2021) — The Aspen Chamber Resort Association (ACRA) was awarded two Destinations Council Destiny Awards for the categories of “Destination Website” and “The Road Less Traveled” at the ESTO (Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations) conference this past Aug. 15-17. ACRA Senior Marketing Manager Jessica Hite accepted the awards at the conference.

The Destiny Awards recognize U.S. Travel destination members for excellence and creative accomplishment in destination marketing and promotion at the local and regional level; and foster the development of imaginative and innovative destination marketing promotion programs and activities. The awards were open to all DMOs or CVBs that are members of the U.S. Travel Association. 

“We are thrilled to have won both of these awards, but it’s especially gratifying to be recognized for one of our destination marketing initiatives, promoting responsible tourism,” said Eliza Voss, Vice President of Marketing for ACRA.

ACRA was the only destination to win multiple Destiny Awards, honored under two categories: “Destination Website” and “The Road Less Traveled”. The category of Destination Website recognizes a destination with a website showing creative implementation of the destination’s brand — visually pleasing, unique, and captures the spirit of a destination. The integration of social media channels, technological innovation as well as mapping, search filters and user personalization are also considered. The other finalists for this category were Discover Flagstaff and the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“The Road Less Travelled” category recognizes a destination’s digital campaign that  showcases areas outside of the traditional “tourist trail” and has a focus on preventing destination overcrowding. Aspen’s “Tag responsibly” campaign promotes the use of a generic geo-tag, protecting trails from becoming highly trafficked and creating a call to action to take the Aspen Pledge to empower visitors to enjoy Aspen in a responsible and sustainable manner. The campaign was awarded for having a clear link to the objectives of avoiding overtourism, dispersing visitors, and encouraging responsible behavior as well as for targeting an audience consisting of both visitors and locals.