The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority (CRVA) announced the winners of the 16th Annual Partners in Tourism Awards, held at the Charlotte Convention Center last week and sponsored by Carowinds. With an estimated 475 representatives from Charlotte’s tourism and hospitality industry in attendance, the event honored and recognized individuals and businesses that have shown resilience, promoted growth and supported the continued recovery of the region’s $6 billion visitor economy.
Last year saw significant industry gains as well as several historic milestones. Hotel demand in Uptown attributed to leisure travel was up 130% over pre-pandemic figures; group or convention-related travel was up 154%. Sixteen of the top 20 nights in hotel rooms sold in the history of Mecklenburg County occurred in 2022. The county also recorded the highest annual total hotel revenue in its history at $887 million, surpassing the prior record in 2019 by nearly $70 million.
“It is a privilege to recognize and celebrate the partners who have contributed greatly to the success of Charlotte’s visitor economy over the last year,” Tom Murray, CEO of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, said. “Every aspect of the tourism and hospitality community was impacted by the pandemic and it’s remarkable to see such resiliency within our community. The individuals and organizations honored today exemplify leadership and have a deep passion for providing exceptional experiences.”
The 2022 Partners in Tourism Award winners are:
Local Champion
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Sixth District
Small Business of the Year
Live Events Media Group
Queen City Amplifier
Charlotte Football Club
Young Professional
Katie Kathman, Sales & Events Manager at Steak 48
Unsung Hero
Billie Campbell, Dual Assistant Chief Engineer at Hilton Garden Inn & Hampton Inn Charlotte Uptown
Lydia Price, Banquet Captain at The Duke Mansion
Renee Wade, Group Housing Coordinator at The Westin Charlotte
Outstanding Ambassador
Wanda Grady, Omelet Chef at Embassy Suites Charlotte Uptown
J’Nequa Mathis, Patient Service Coordinator at Atrium Health Global Healthcare Services
Hospitality Professional of the Year
Bryan Paschal, President & Owner at Paschal Events
Destination Impact Award
Tom Gabbard, CEO of Blumenthal Performing Arts
Murray presented Gabbard with the Destination Impact Award saying, “I’m grateful for his leadership, vision and passion for the Queen City and the hospitality industry. Charlotte’s nonprofit arts and cultural community is a vital component to our success as a leisure destination and the strength of the visitor economy.”
The event also showcased the reintroduction of the 28-foot long “CHARLOTTE” fabricated letters that originally welcomed spectators to the Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Club last year. In the new iteration, which drew inspiration from the June 2020 ‘Black Lives Matter’ mural on South Tryon Street in Uptown, each CHARLOTTE letter was designed by a team of artists from nine different arts and cultural groups from across the county. The CRVA engaged local arts advocacy group Charlotte is Creative for the commissioned initiative. More than 15 artists worked on the letters, drawing inspiration from CRVA’s four key brand themes of arts and culture, diversity and inclusion, outdoor recreation and adventure and culinary.
The organizations who designed each letter included:
- C – Fulltime Funkytown
- H – OBRA Collective
- A – Charlotte Art League
- R – ArtC-Collab
- L – TAC Crew
- O/CROWN – BLKMRKTCLT
- T – Namaste CLT
- T – Guild of Charlotte Artists
- E – Creative Entrepreneurs Initiative
The Partners in Tourism Awards were supported by Carowinds, along with other sponsors Charlotte Motor Speedway (Networking); Encore, REDLEE and Kimpton Tryon Park (Leaders of Tomorrow); and Atrium Health Global Services, Truliant Federal Credit Union and Upshift (Supporting).
