IUPUI Announces Cash Cultural Tourism Prize

The 2006 Efroymson Award for Excellence in Cultural Tourism Development prize will be presented May 12.

Source: Inside INdiana Business

Press Release

A $25,000 prize will be awarded to the organization that wins a contest for the best cultural tourism initiative in the state, announced the Department of Tourism, Conventions and Event Management at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI).

The 2006 Efroymson Award for Excellence in Cultural Tourism Development prize will be presented at “Capitalize on Culture,” a statewide conference on cultural tourism the department is hosting May 12, 2006 at the University Place Conference Center, 850 W. Michigan Street, Indianapolis. The prize is made possible through a grant from the Efroymson Fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation.

“The honor will recognize an organization for a highly creative, professionally executed cultural tourism initiative that met or exceeded results-driven goals,” said Sotiris H. Avgoustis, associate professor and chair of the department.

“This conference provides a forum for recipients to share exceptional performance practices with Indiana leaders in cultural tourism development,” Avgoustis said.

Richard Florida, widely regarded as one of the most influential scholars on the rise of the creative class and the impact of cultural tourism on a city’s economy, will be the featured speaker at the event.

Cultural tourism initiatives conducted between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2005 or work initiated prior to January 1, 2005 that continued through this timeframe are eligible. Speculative work is not eligible, but the plan for future utilization of the $25,000 award will be considered. Multiple entries by a single organization are acceptable if each submission has a different objective or target.

A panel of objective tourism professionals will judge the entries on a combination of program description (20%), overall strategy (20%), anticipated results (40%) and plans for the award (20%). All budget levels will be considered and judged against like-budget projects.

Questions regarding the award should be directed to akcecil@iupui.edu. Deadline for submission is April 7 at 5pm.”

For more information about the conference, visit: http://www.culturaltourismconference.com/

Source: Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis