The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International has honored the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau with a Silver Adrian Award for its winning entry in the 64th annual Adrian Awards, the largest and most prestigious global travel marketing competition.

The PMVB’s winning entry in the Crisis Communications/Management category spoke to the Pocono Promise, created in May 2020 during the height of COVID-19. The Pocono Promise is a voluntary vow among regional businesses to follow certain guidelines that protect the health, safety, and well-being of residents, employees, and customers. To date, nearly 300 businesses of all shapes and sizes, in the hospitality industry and beyond, have signed the Promise.

The entry also included the PMVB’s weekly COVID-19 briefings, which aired live on Blue Ridge Cable and were streamed on several online platforms. For nine weeks, from the shutdown through reopening phase, community leaders served as panelists to provide important and timely updates related to COVID-19 in the Pocono region. The briefings allowed health care, education, and government officials to connect directly with the viewing public and provide valuable information during a time of great uncertainty.

“The Adrian Awards took on a new and vital meaning in 2021,” said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHBA, president and CEO of HSMAI. “Hospitality and tourism professionals continue to face evolving challenges due to the ongoing pandemic that require a new level of innovation and ingenuity to survive. By recognizing incredible work, we will reinvigorate the spirit and strength of our industry to push forward and drive recovery.”

“During the pandemic, we felt it was important to provide resources to help businesses, organizations, and the community navigate the new normal, and we continue providing those resources today,” said Chris Barrett, president/CEO of the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau. “Our region is resilient, and we are honored to receive this prestigious award.”