The Art Institute of Chicago has been selected as the Cultural & Heritage Tourism Destination. The award was presented at the ONE Travel Conference SASI-ONE award breakfast on Friday, September 9th at the Le Meridien Delfina Hotel in Santa Monica, Calif.

The award recognizes organizations that demonstrate leadership, marketing creativity and dedication to promoting cultural and heritage tourism. The Cultural & Heritage Tourism Destination of the Year Award is one of 14 SASI-ONE Awards  (SASI = Shop America Salutes Innovation) for shopping and cultural tourism marketing excellence presented by Shop America Alliance and U.S. Cultural & Heritage Tourism Marketing Council in partnership with CenterCal Properties.  Brandace Bruning of CenterCal Properties is the SASI-ONE Awards Chairperson.

A six person committee that included a representative from last year's award recipient, The Getty, selected The Art Institute of Chicago for its innovative campaign titled Van Gogh's Bedroom. Visitors can spend the night, literally, inside the famous artist's “The Bedroom” that was replicated in an apartment in downtown Chicago and posted on Airbnb.  It was part of a campaign to promote the artist's iconic 1888-1889 trio of paintings, which was on display at The Art Institute of Chicago beginning on Valentine's Day through May 2016.

"The Art Institute of Chicago is honored to receive the 2015 Cultural & Heritage Tourism Destination Marketing Award presented by the U.S. Cultural & Heritage Tourism Marketing Council," shared Director of Tourism Marketing Nora Gainer. "We're so proud to be recognized by our peers for our creative partnership with Leo Burnett on the 2015 'Let Yourself In' campaign to promote the museum's extraordinary exhibition Van Gogh's Bedrooms."

The Art Institute of Chicago was founded as both a museum and school for the fine arts in 1879, a critical era in the history of Chicago as civic energies were devoted to rebuilding the metropolis that had been destroyed by the Great Fire of 1871.  Today, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the museum of the Art Institute of Chicago are now internationally recognized as two of the leading fine-arts institutions in the United States. 

The Art Institute of Chicago was selected for this award by a committee of leaders in cultural and heritage tourism marketing: Carol Kendra, Vice President of Communication, The Henry Ford; David Singleman, Group & Sales Tourism Coordinator, The Getty; Megan Smith, Commissioner, Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing; Kim Priez, Senior VP of Tourism, New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau; Carolyn Feimster, President, CJF Marketing International; Ruby Harper, Director of Local Arts Services, Americans For The Arts.

About ONE Travel Conference:

ONE Travel Conference for Shopping, Dining and Cultural & Heritage Tourism is produced annually by Shop America Alliance and U.S. Cultural & Heritage Tourism Marketing Council. The Conference brings together leaders in the travel industry to focus on The Power of Partnership, speaking with ONE Voice.  For more information visit ONETravelConference.com or call 707.224.3795.

About Shop America Alliance:

Shop America Alliance is the travel trade organization representing hundreds of the premier shopping tourism destinations, retailers, shopping centers, museum stores and outlets in North America. Founded in 1998, Shop America Alliance co-produces the annual ONE Travel Conference and SASI-ONE Awards and The Cultural Traveler guidebook, publishes Shop America Magazine and markets more than 100 shopping tours and cultural experiences in 40 cities.  For more information, visit shopamericatours.com or call 707.224.3795.

About US Cultural & Heritage Tourism Marketing Council

US Cultural & Heritage Tourism Marketing Council (USCHT) is a travel trade association marketing US cultural and heritage tourism experiences both nationally and internationally. USCHT represents leading U.S. tourism destinations, attractions and travel partners engaged in marketing U.S. cultural and heritage to travelers throughout the United States and around the world, co-produces the annual ONE Travel Conference and SASI-ONE Awards and The Cultural Traveler guidebook and sponsors market research on the Cultural and Heritage Traveler. For more information, visit TheCulturalTraveler.com  or call 760.703.6020.