International Polo Club Palm Beach Honored with Prestigious Tourism Award
WELLINGTON, FL (May 7, 2013) – The Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) recognized the International Polo Club Palm Beach (IPC) with the prestigious 2013 Providencia Award, based on the organization’s significant and substantial impact on the destinations tourism industry.
LILA Photos
The honor was fittingly awarded to John Wash, president of IPC, before a sellout crowd of tourism and hospitality leaders during the annual Tourism Day luncheon. National Travel and Tourism Week is a sanctioned campaign of the U.S. Travel Association, aimed at generating awareness of the importance of travel and tourism to the county.
“The Providencia Award is Palm Beach County’s most important symbol of recognition for the local tourism industry, which employs 45,000 county residents and contributes over $5 billion annually to the local economy,” said CVB President and CEO Jorge Pesquera. “I could not think of a better time to celebrate this award, its recipient, and the many, very worthy nominees, than today, when industry representatives from around the country are rallying together to recognize the extraordinary, economic contribution of tourism here in the United States.”
The International Polo Club Palm Beach was chosen as one of three finalists by the CVB’s Providencia Committee, who evaluated and scored 15 different nominations. Those three finalists were then put to a public vote on PalmBeachPost.com, The Palm Beach Post’s source for online news. Voters were given the opportunity to review an overview and a brief video, produced by The Palm Beach Post’s online team, for each of the three finalists before casting their votes. This year’s finalists included Lynn University, The Honda Classic, and the International Polo Club Palm Beach.
“The International Polo Club is home to America’s triple crown – the three highest rated polo tournaments on the continent: the USPA C.V. Whitney Cup, the Piaget USPA Gold Cup, and the USPA U.S. Open Polo Championship. And now, we couldn’t be happier to be home to the 2013 Providencia Award. Our 10th anniversary season broke all records. Winning the Providencia Award is truly the icing on the cake. We thank everyone for their support,” John Wash said.
There were 12 other nominees for this year’s Providencia Award, including Delray Beach Marketing Cooperative, Palm Beach International Boat Show, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Equestrian Sport Productions’ CEO, Mark Bellissimo, Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival, and the Palm Beach International Raceway.
“In 2013, Palm Beach County’s tourism industry will generate more than $5 billion for the local economy, recording triple growth over the past three decades,” said Jorge Pesquera. “It is a truly incredible sign of our industry’s resilience that we have made a full recovery after some challenging economic times, and are close to our all-time peaks in virtually every tourism performance category.”
About the International Polo Club Palm Beach
The International Polo Club Palm Beach (IPC) celebrates its 10th season of bringing the highest goal polo competition to Palm Beach County during 16 weeks of the winter season. IPC is considered to be the finest, most well-equipped polo facility in the United States. Spectators hail from around the globe, representing numerous countries in Europe and South America, as well as South Africa, Canada, and the United States, and exceed 200,000 annually.
About the Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau
The Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau is the official destination marketing organization for Palm Beach County, Fla., with a mission to increase visitation, deliver a one-of-a-kind visitor experience, and contribute to the overall economic development in Palm Beach County. As a nonprofit organization, the CVB develops marketing and sales strategies to support tourism, which, as one of Palm Beach County’s largest industries, generates an annual economic impact of $5 billion in the local economy, welcomes 5 million visitors a year, supports 45,000 industry jobs, and helps to ensure Florida remains a tax-free state. www.palmbeachfl.com
Media Contact: Enid Atwater, Venue Marketing Group, 561-844-1778, ext. 21, enida@venueadv.com
