News & Information
| The Wildwoods Pick Up Three More Major Tourism Accolades | ||
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Susan Adelizzi-Schmidt, ext. 103, or Joseph Degand, ext. 124 Suasion Communications/ Smith O'Keefe 609-653-0400 800-222-0461 publicrelations@smithokeefe.com The Wildwoods Pick Up Three More Major Tourism Accolades The Wildwoods listed among AOL's "Top 10 More Beach for Your Money" resorts; the Wildwoods Boardwalk named one of ForbesTraveler.com's "Top 10 American Boardwalks"; and the Wildwoods named "Best of New Jersey Heritage Tourism" by Preservation New Jersey The Wildwoods, NJ - September 3, 2009 -The accolades and awards keep on coming as the Wildwoods picked up three major tourism honors last month. Including recognition from two of the country's most influential companies, AOL and Forbes, along with an award from New Jersey's leading historic preservation organization, Preservation New Jersey. The Wildwoods were named one of AOL's Top 10 More Beach for Your Money destinations. For this list, the Wildwoods' beautiful, FREE beaches were listed among other major US beaches including those found in Maui, Hawaii and Huntington Beach, California. The Wildwoods' wide beaches and two-mile long Boardwalk, featuring their famous 140-foot Ferris wheel and three amusement piers, along with the Wildwoods' nostalgic doo-wop ambiance and retro architecture, secured the Wildwoods beaches' place on the list. AOL is a leading global web services company with an extensive suite of brands and offerings and a substantial worldwide audience. AOL LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Time Warner, Inc. with employees in 18 countries across the globe. Click here to view the AOL Top 10 More Beach for Your Money List. The Wildwoods gained another prestigious designation when the Wildwoods Boardwalk was listed as one of the nation's Top 10 American Boardwalks by ForbesTraveler.com. The Wildwoods' two-mile Boardwalk was recognized among the nation's best boardwalks because of its high number of yearly visitors, its three fun-filled amusement piers and its vast number of shops and eateries. ForbesTraveler.com provides travel and destination information to affluent lifestyle readers. Topics include destination reviews, vacation ideas along with accommodation listings and reservation resources. The website is published by Forbes.com LLC. Click here to view the ForbesTraveler Top 10 American Boardwalks article. In addition, the Wildwoods were recently named 2009's Best of New Jersey Heritage Tourism by Preservation New Jersey. The Wildwoods received nearly 40% of the total votes cast for the title among the twenty-eight New Jersey heritage tourism destinations included in the statewide competition. The Wildwoods' historic Doo Wop properties and culture have become known nationwide and internationally as an American treasure, and have played a major role in drawing heritage tourists to the seashore resort. Preservation New Jersey is New Jersey's leading historic and preservation organization. Founded in 1978, Preservation New Jersey advocates for and promotes historic preservation as a sustainable strategy to protect and enhance the vitality and heritage of New Jersey's richly diverse communities. The Wildwoods are positioned as a world-class New Jersey family destination and one of the nation's overall best vacation destinations. The Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority (GWTIDA) oversees the branding, marketing, advertising and public relations for the five-mile resort. John Siciliano, Executive Director for the GWTIDA, said this about the tourism honors: "Words can't describe how honored we are to be listed among the nation's top beaches and boardwalks, along with being recognized for our unique doo-wop heritage. These three prestigious honors, along with all of the others we've received throughout the years, show that the Wildwoods have truly grown to become one of the East Coast's top vacation destinations. We hope that these honors attract even more visitors to our beautiful five-mile island so they can see, first-hand, what we have always known: that the Wildwoods' offers guests a one-of-a-kind experience thanks to our distinctive doo-wop heritage and our free beaches and boardwalk which, we can proudly say, are among the country's best." Earlier this summer, the Wildwoods were named one of Time.com's 50 Authentic American Experiences for 2009 and one of Sherman's Travel's Top Ten American Boardwalks. For more information about GWTIDA and the Wildwoods, visit WildwoodsNJ.com or call 609-729-9000 or 800-WW-BY-SEA. ### About the Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority The Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority (GWTIDA) was formed in 1993 to consolidate the tourism economy of its three founding municipalities: Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and North Wildwood. The Wildwoods have won numerous travel and tourism awards, heralding the resort for its beaches, boardwalk and attractions. In 2009, the Wildwoods were named one of Sherman's Travel's "Top Ten American Boardwalks" and one of Time.com's "50 Authentic American Experiences." In addition, the Wildwoods were also voted "Best Town" and "Best Beaches" in the 2009 WTXF-TV My Fox Philly Hot List, Jersey Shore Edition contest. The Wildwoods were also named "Best Beaches" in the 2008 Top Ten New Jersey Beaches public survey, sponsored by the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium. Wildwoods beaches were named "Best Beach for Family Vacations," "Best Beach for Tourism" and "Best Beach for Events" in the same survey. The Tourism Authority operates the Wildwoods Convention Center and acts as the island's destination marketing organization overseeing the development, research, planning, marketing, advertising, promotion, public and media relations encompassing the tourism, meeting and convention industry in the Wildwoods. Additionally, the Authority funds, assists with and hosts more than 180 annual special events to enhance the visitor experience and extend the tourism season, including the Thunder On The Sand Race Series, Family Nights On The Boardwalk, Friday Night Fireworks, The New Jersey State Barbeque Championships and Anglesea Blues Festival, Classic Car Shows, the International Kite Festival, Irish and Italian Festivals and the National Marbles Tournament, among others. For more information on the Wildwoods, contact the GWTIDA at 1-800-WW-By-Sea (800-992-9732) or visit its web site, www.WildwoodsNJ.com. | ||
