Joliet Area Historical Museum receives award for Old Joliet Prison event

At a celebration on Dec. 6 at Navy Pier, the Illinois Excellence in Tourism Awards honored the most “innovative tourism marketing initiatives from convention and tourism bureaus throughout the state, prior to the pandemic,” according to a news release from the Heritage Corridor Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Val Warner, the Emmy Award-winning co-host of Windy City Weekend on ABC 7, hosted the award ceremony.

The Joliet Area Historical Museum received the Best Event or Festival Budget B for its “A Night Behind Bars” at the Old Joliet Prison.

The Heritage Corridor Convention and Visitors Bureau received an Excellence in Tourism Award for Best Niche Targeting Budget A at the 2021 Illinois Governor’s Conference on Travel & Tourism this week for developing and promoting the Heritage Corridor Ale Trail.

This was a passport program that encouraged visitors to stop at the Heritage Corridor’s breweries and other “craft beer hot spots,” the release said. Visitors would earn passport stickers by trying beers at different stops, the release said.

The Ottawa Visitors Center [Local Food Restaurant Week] tied with the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition’s [History in Your Backyard] for Best Niche Targeting Budget B.

Travel and tourism professionals from around the country served as judges. Each eight of the submissions categories had a Budget A for organizations with annual operating budgets of $500,000 and above and a Budget B for organizations with budgets under $500,000, the release said.

“The CVB was also part of the campaign that won for Best International Marketing. Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau developed the campaign in partnership with the Heritage Corridor & Visit Springfield,” the release said.

For information, visit HeritageCorridorCVB.com.