Visit Perry wins two awards from the Southeast Tourism Society

PERRY — Visit Perry’s visitor’s guide received the Best Marketing Award from the Southeast Tourism Society, and its director won the Rising Star Award.

The Southeast Tourism Society recently held its annual Connections Conference in Auburn, Alabama. Visit Perry Executive Director Anya Turpin attended the conference and was surprised to learn that she had won the Rising Star award. 

Turpin shared that she’s in her second year serving as Executive Director and is still getting acquainted with the position. However, she is proud her team has been able to bring home two awards in less than two years. She said it is an honor and a privilege to be recognized by the society.

“I think [it’s] a testament to how hard we work to support Perry and promote Perry. It’s really nice because we were the only city in the state of Georgia to be awarded anything out of the 13 states across the southeast including [Washington] D.C. and then also, we went home with two awards. It was really great,” she said. 

As Executive Director, Turpin oversees Visit Perry’s operations. She manages the team, the board, the mission and the vision. She said it is a different job every day, depending on the season, what is going on in the community and what they are engaged in outside the community.

The Visit Perry team is the city’s marketing and promotional arm. They are in charge of promoting everything that is happening in the city, from businesses and restaurants to events and attractions. 

Turpin said the team strives for interest from outside the region; whether it’s a couple of counties over, completely different states or internationally, they want everyone to come and experience Perry.

She shared that she felt great receiving the awards and was excited to be recognized among many people. Turpin said there were Convention and Visitors Bureaus 10 times their size and budgets in the million-dollar range in attendance.

“There were a very big and diverse group of Convention and Visitors Bureaus in the room ranging from small towns like Perry, Georgia to big cities like Orlando, Florida. It felt really great to be selected and to be honored for the work that we do on behalf of the city of Perry,” she said.

Turpin believes Visit Perry’s win is a testament to its efforts to engage with its community and be its best advocate. She said she thinks many Convention and Visitor Bureaus or businesses outsource much of their work, which can remove the personal touch.

Turpin believes the team’s engagement has a personal touch that sets them apart.

“We show up at different events and festivals and personally tell people about Perry. We send handwritten notes. We update our social media ourselves based on what we’re seeing happening in the community,” she said. “Everything is very live, consistent and, again, that emphasis on being personable and being that hospitable person, inviting people to come and experience Perry on a personal level. I think it makes a very big difference with the authentic invitation.”

Turpin shared that the city’s mission is to ensure everyone feels welcome. Visit Perry takes that mission and ensures it reaches as far as possible. 

She said the city focuses on quality of life for residents while focusing on quality of place for both residents and visitors. Turpin mentioned they hear at tourism conferences or trainings, “A place that you want to live is a place that you’ll want to visit.”

“If we build a city that people will want to live in and are excited to live in, then people will also want to visit here, and it goes both ways,” she said. “I think that cooperation and working on both quality of life and quality of place together is imperative in making a place that people want to live, and people want to visit.”

To find out more about Visit Perry, visit their website.