News

TDA wins top honors for marketing, including Best of Show

Michelle Owens

By Lightning Reports, Published: November 14, 2025

Visit Hendersonville earned three tourism achievement awards during the NC Travel Industry Association Leadership Conference Nov. 5-6 in Wilmington, including best of show honors for its "we're still open" social media campaign promoting the county after Hurricane Helene.

The annual awards highlight outstanding innovation, collaboration and results in North Carolina’s travel-and-tourism sector.

Visit Hendersonville won the platinum award in the Social Media Marketing category for large tourism bureaus with its “Message from the Mountains” video. Released in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the heartfelt video allowed Hendersonville to reassure travelers the destination was open, safe and still the welcoming mountain community they loved.

In addition to earning the top Social Media Marketing award, the video, created by the tourism bureau’s marketing agency, Paradise, also captured the Best of Show award among all winners in the tourism marketing categories.

“Visit Hendersonville’s work exemplifies how a destination can meaningfully engage visitors during a difficult time through compelling narrative, striking imagery and strategic digital execution,” said NCTIA executive director Vince Chelena. “It demonstrated best-in-class social media execution: strong creative concept, high production value, authentic sense of place and a clear call-to-action for visitors.”

The “Message from the Mountains” video can be watched online at this YouTube link.

Hendersonville’s third honor was a gold award in Community Stakeholder Communication category for large tourism bureaus. The award recognized the bureau’s e-newsletter, “So Here’s the Thing,” which the tourism bureau distributes twice monthly to local industry partners.

“'So Here’s The Thing' has become the HCTDA’s most effective tool to engage Henderson County’s tourism community with a structured, trusted source of info and insight to improve collaboration within our industry,” said Michelle Owens, TDA's executive director.

The conference and awards banquet in Wilmington concluded with the NCTIA presenting its Visitor Attraction of the Year award to the Fort Fisher State Historic Site, located in nearby Kure Beach. More information about Visit Hendersonville is available online at https://VisitHendersonvilleNC.org/