St. Augustine, FL (February 26, 2025) -- The North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) announced that St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau's (VCB) “Must Do Experiences” marketing campaign won a Gold Award in the Creative Marketing Campaign category of the 33rd Annual North American Travel Journalists Awards Competition. This awards competition honors the best of the best in travel journalism, photography, and destination marketing.

“Our independent panel of judges remarked on the difficulty they had selecting winners,” stated NATJA CEO, Helen Hernandez. “We are proud of the winners of this year's competition, many of whom are members of NATJA, which speaks to the caliber of talent and professionalism in the organization.”

Judges for the competition included award-winning newspaper and magazine editors, and educators from across journalism disciplines.
The VCB's “Must Do Experiences” campaign shares a tie for Gold in the Creative Marketing Campaign with Indiana Destination Development Corporation's “Total Eclipse in Indiana 2024” campaign. Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach, Florida VCB, won Silver for their “Pure Florida Advertising Campaign”, and Lawrence, Kansas won Bronze for the “Lawrence Kansas Summer Fun Campaign”.

The VCB's “Must do Experience” video campaign was designed to create awareness of the unique experiences available on Florida's Historic Coast in a series of one-minute videos. Each business representative interviewed in the series shared their passion for our destination and recommended another business as their favorite “must do” experience.

“We are honored to be recognized with Gold by NATJA for what we believe is one of our best promotional campaigns, said Susan Phillips, President and CEO of St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches VCB. “We credit this win to the local tourism community who share the passion for what they do and support one another through the campaign.”

The Must Do Experiences videos can be viewed at www.floridashistoriccoast.com/things-to-do/must-do-experiences-on-floridas-historic-coast/

Founded in 1991, NATJA is a travel journalism industry leader that fosters high-quality journalism by supporting the professional development of its members, providing exceptional program benefits and valuable resources, honoring the excellence of journalism throughout the world, and promoting travel and leisure to the general public.

Located midway between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, Florida's Historic Coast includes historic St. Augustine, the outstanding golf and seaside elegance of Ponte Vedra, the rural beauty of Hastings, Elkton, St. Johns, and 42 miles of pristine Atlantic beaches. Visitor Information Centers are located at 10 Castillo Drive, St. Augustine; 200 Solana Rd. Suite B, Ponte Vedra Beach: and at the St. Johns County Beach Pier Park, 350 A1A Beach Blvd., St. Augustine Beach. For advance travel information, call 1.800.653.2489 or go to the Visitors and Convention Bureau website at www.FloridasHistoricCoast.com. Check us out on social media Instagram @FloridasHistoricCoast; @ViajaStAugustine, Facebook.com/OfficialStAugustine, and Facebook.com/ViajaStAugustine and Twitter @FlHistoricCoast
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