ESTO Awards are Back!

After a hiatus last year, the ESTO Awards are BACK! This year’s awards program will honor two years’ worth of destination marketing excellence displayed in 2019 and 2020 and will celebrate destination marketers who met these challenges head-on with some of the most innovative and creative campaigns ever created.

Destination marketers are thrilled to have this prestigious awards program back and they showed their enthusiasm through the record 413 entries submitted.

Each year, the size and profile of the awards program grows, thanks in large part to the caliber of our judging panel. The 2021 judging panel is made up of advertising and marketing leaders from Hilton Worldwide, Hylink North America, HarperCollins Publishers, Socialisssima, Red7e and more.

To recognize the changing landscape of the industry, some exciting new categories have been added to the program.

• The Advocacy and Grassroots Campaign category highlights how destinations and states demonstrated their value to stakeholders and lawmakers during a difficult time for the industry
• The Community Building category showcased the work DMOs undertook in 2020 to serve as the go-to resource for COVID-19 restrictions, health and safety best practices and other information for residents and visitors alike, as well as focusing on how destinations and states supported local businesses through unique programming or messaging
• The Destination and Product Development category displays how outdoor or other social distancing-friendly attractions were upgraded throughout the year to accommodate residents and visitors safely
• The Virtual Programming category showcased the creativity demonstrated to pivot to virtual destination marketing offerings—virtual tours/experiences, unique Zoom background, songwriter series and many more

The entries are in the judges’ hands now and winners will be presented at ESTO’s Tuesday night dinner and presentation on August 17 in Los Angeles, Calif. We hope to see you there!