SLO County takes home 3 state tourism awards

Correction: This story has been changed to say that it was the city of San Luis Obispo’s tourism promotion program that underwent a makeover.

San Luis Obispo County tourism organizations won three state tourism awards from Visit California, a statewide tourism agency.

The city of San Luis Obispo and BCA+StudioGood received the Poppy Award for Best Overall Marketing Program for its tourism campaign in the 2014-15 fiscal year. The city’s tourism promotion underwent a large makeover during that time, including logos and creative for print and digital advertising, according to a news release.

San Luis Obispo hotels saw a 12.3 percent increase in transient occupancy tax and boosts in other key indicators over the program’s first year, the release said.

The Poppy Award for Commitment to Community was given to the CA Highway 1 Discovery Route’s Stewardship Travel Program. It was developed to integrate sustainability, environmental education and natural resource conservation to increase tourism throughout its 10 destinations in unincorporated San Luis Obispo County.

Sunset SAVOR the Central Coast, owned by Visit San Luis Obispo County, received the Poppy Award for Best Public Relations Campaign under $20,000. The food, wine and lifestyle event is set to go on the road this year.

Tourism organizations are honored and selected by a panel of industry marketing professionals in 10 categories for the biennial tourism awards.

This story was originally published April 26, 2016 at 1:32 PM with the headline "SLO County takes home 3 state tourism awards."