The Blockade Runner Beach Resort in Wrightsville Beach has been awarded the 2014 Tourism Excellence Award for Business. The annual award, given by the North Carolina Travel Industry Association recognizes outstanding contributions made by businesses or organizations to the state’s tourism industry. Kim Hufham, president/CEO of the New Hanover County Tourism Development Authority and past president of NCTIA, presented the award to BRBR managing partner Mary Baggett Martin during the North Carolina Tourism Leadership Conference Awards Banquet, Oct. 9 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Winston-Salem.
Since the early days of New Hanover County’s Convention and Visitors Bureau chartered in 1986, Hufham said the Blockade Runner has been a valued travel partner and strong supporter of tourism. “The Blockade Runner was among the first to reach out to partner with the CVB. Over the years they have provided countless free rooms and meals and/or reduced rates to visiting travel writers, tour operators and meeting planners. They have also participated in CVB promotions and campaigns, destination trade shows, sales blitzes and other tourism functions. Their ongoing support has been invaluable to our marketing efforts.”
The Blockade Runner’s parent company, Four Seasons Management Services, Inc., has also operated other North Carolina hotels and restaurants from the Coast to the Piedmont and the Blue Ridge mountains. On the state level, Mary Baggett Martin has served on the N.C. Division of Tourism’s Advisory Board, helping to guide and mold the tourism industry statewide. She has traveled with state tourism industry participants on numerous domestic and international sales missions, helping to increase group and individual travel from Europe, Canada and the U.S.
