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Friday, March 29, 2024

Ocala/Marion County tourism marketing video wins “Best of Show” at 2022 Flagler Awards

The Ocala/Marion County Visitors and Convention Bureau (OMCVCB) was awarded the prestigious “Best of Show” at the 2022 Flagler Awards, which took place earlier this week at the Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism.

The award recognizes OMCVCB’s marketing efforts through a video production project that “captured the beauty and wonder of the Ocala National Forest,” according to a press release from the Marion County Board of County Commissioners.

Ocala Marion County wins Best of Show award for Tourism Marketing at 2022 Flagler Awards
From left to right: Mounir Bouyounes, Marion County Administrator; Sky Wheeler, Tourism Development Manager for Marion County; and Loretta Shaffer, Tourism Development Director for Marion County accepting the “Best Of Show” award (Photo courtesy of the Marion County Board of County Commissioners)

The winning project was submitted by OMCVCB in the ‘Niche Marketing’ category, but it came out on top of every other submission across all categories for the entire state of Florida in the destination’s budget level.

Loretta Shaffer, Tourism Development Director for Marion County, stated, “We are beyond honored to be recognized statewide with this top distinction for this media effort and thrilled by the incredible success of the project highlighting our one-of-a-kind natural environment.”

“The Ocala National Forest takes up more than a quarter of Marion County as a whole and plays an important role in attracting outdoor enthusiasts to visit our great destination. We are proud to be bringing the ‘Best of Show’ award home with us to Marion County and grateful to our county leadership, the Tourist Development Council, our hospitality industry, and media partners for the continued support of our efforts to promote tourism,” added Shaffer.

The Ocala National Forest is a significant part of the tourism story in Marion County. However, the vastness of the forest makes it difficult to capture it in a way that can be conveyed to visitors.

To help garner visually stunning graphics with access to remote parts of the Ocala National Forest, OMCVCB partnered with “More Than Just Parks.” The production team, with the help of OMCVCB, generated a full itinerary for locations and activities to capture in the forest over a period of six days.

To view the full video from the Ocala/Marion County Visitors and Convention Bureau’s winning project, click here.

For more information about the Flagler Awards, and to view past winners, check out VISIT FLORIDA’s website.