HSMAI HONORS GREATER RALEIGH CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU
WITH A BRONZE AWARD DURING ANNUAL ADRIAN AWARDS COMPETITION

RALEIGH, N.C. (February 2, 2010) - The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) has recognized The Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (GRCVB) with a Bronze Award for advertising excellence in the 53rd annual Adrian Awards Competition. This is the second time the GRCVB has won an Adrian Award; the first being in 2007 for the French Experience campaign in conjunction with the N.C. Museum of Art's Monet in Normandy exhibition.

The 2009 award-winning entry, the Official Visitors Guide to Raleigh, Cary and Wake County, is an annual printed piece featuring comprehensive information on local attractions, cultural opportunities, shopping information, sports and recreation options and 127 Greater Raleigh hotel accommodations. This year's guide has several new features designed to give visitors an "insiders" view to the Raleigh area. Short articles highlight the destination's attributes with topics ranging from quirky shopping to out?of?the?ordinary festivals and outdoor dining hotspots. Nearly 100 new images from local photographers were used to create a stunning pictorial of the area.

"Through thorough research we found that visitors to the Raleigh area find our destination to be unique, celebratory, smart and dynamic and we wanted to create a tool that showcased these attributes," said Denny Edwards, President and CEO of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau. "The guide is an invaluable resource for visitors to our area and we are honored to have been recognized by HSMAI for our efforts."

This competition is the largest and most prestigious travel marketing competition in the world attracting nearly 1,100 entries judged by top executives from all sectors of the hospitality industry. HSMAI honored the GRCVB, during the 20thth annual HSMAI Adrian Awards Show - a gala black tie dinner held on February 1, 2010 in New York City. This premier industry event was attended by more than 1,000 hospitality, travel and tourism industry and marketing executives.

HSMAI
HSMAI is an organization of sales and marketing professionals representing all segments of the
hospitality industry. With a strong focus on education, HSMAI has become the industry champion in
identifying and communicating trends in the hospitality industry, and bringing together customers and
members at annual events, including HSMAI's Affordable Meetings®.