HARRISONBURG, VA – Harrisonburg Tourism & Visitor Services announced that their Harrisonburg Rockingham Trail Guide received the Virginia Association of Destination Marketing Organizations (VADMO) Virgo Award.

The organization won the award in VADMO’s “Advertising & Promotion with Budget of Less Than $1M award” category.

The Trail Guide, which was developed through a Virginia Tourism Grant, highlights 15 area trails including five cycling trails. Paper copies are available at the Hardesty-Higgins House Visitor Center, and the guide was also translated into Spanish with help from the Harrisonburg Community Gear Library.

The Virginia Association of Destination Marketing Organizations (VADMO), an association supporting destination marketing organizations and the development of tourism and travel professionals in Virginia, announced awards to the winners of the 2024 VIRGO Awards at their Annual Meeting and Spring Symposium last week in Richmond, Virginia.

Harrisonburg Tourism also recently received the Trailblazer award from the Virginia Tourism Corporation for their work developing and promoting the Trail Guide.

“I am thrilled the guide is receiving so much recognition, we are seeing many more people inquiring about the guide as a result,” Jennifer Bell, Harrisonburg Tourism Manager, said in a release. “Which helps highlight Harrisonburg as the Outdoor Recreation Capital of the Shenandoah Valley.”

The VIRGO Awards, now in their fourteenth year, celebrates the success of destination marketing organizations along with their respective staff members and volunteers.

Theresa Earles, Tourism Development Manager with Suffolk Tourism, manages the VIRGO Awards on behalf of VADMO.

“Each year, VADMO honors the best and brightest in Virginia’s tourism industry,” Earles said in the release. Whether it is an innovative marketing campaign, a wildly successful destination event, or a top-notch tourism professional; the VIRGO Awards showcase the immense talent and dedication of VADMO’s members.”

Judges for the awards were industry peers outside of the state of Virginia, and submissions were evaluated on the quality of the submission, economic efficiency, and the economic or community impact.  The awards were for projects, campaigns, and efforts completed between January through December 2023.

Harrisonburg has also been selected to host the VADMO Spring Symposium in 2025. The symposium will be held in Hotel Madison Shenandoah Valley Conference Center.