FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

June 11, 2015

Contact: John Fieseler, 301-600-4041, jfieseler@fredco-md.net

 

Frederick, MD -- The Tourism Council of Frederick Council proudly announces that the Frederick Visitor Center has received a TripAdvisor® 2015 Certificate of Excellence award. Now in its fifth year, the award celebrates excellence in hospitality and is given only to establishments that consistently achieve great traveler reviews on TripAdvisor. Certificate of Excellence winners include accommodations, eateries and attractions located all over the world that have continually delivered a superior customer experience. 

When selecting Certificate of Excellence winners, TripAdvisor uses a proprietary algorithm to determine the honorees. That algorithm takes into account the quality, quantity and recency of reviews and opinions submitted by travelers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period as well as business’s tenure and ranking on the Popularity Index on the site.  To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months.  

“Winning the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence is a true source of pride for our entire tourism staff,” said John Fieseler, Executive Director of the Tourism Council of Frederick County. “We’d like to thank all of our visitors who took the time to complete a review of the Frederick Visitor Center on TripAdvisor. The visitor center is the perfect place for visitors to begin their journey and get acquainted with all there is to see and do throughout the county. There is no greater seal of approval than being recognized by our visitors for doing that job well. This accolade is a remarkable vote of confidence to tourism in Frederick County and our continued commitment to our visitors.”

"TripAdvisor is pleased to honor exceptional hospitality businesses that have received consistent praise and recognition by travelers on the site,” said Marc Charron President, TripAdvisor for Business. “By putting a spotlight on businesses that are focused on delivering great service to customers, TripAdvisor not only helps drive increasing hospitality standards around the world, it also gives businesses both large and small the ability to shine and stand out from the competition.”

The Frederick Visitor Center opened its doors at 151 S. East Street in 2011. Located in a beautifully renovated circa-1899 industrial warehouse, the visitor center features 2,200-square feet of interpretive exhibits. Visitors can enjoy an award-winning, multi-screen orientation film, “A Turn of the Wheel” in the state-of-the-art theater. Maps, guides, and information on regional attractions and events are available year-round, and friendly, knowledgeable Visitor Center hosts can help suggest attractions to suit everyone’s interests.

TripAdvisor® is the world's largest travel site*, enabling travelers to plan and book the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools that check hundreds of websites to find the best hotel prices. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, reaching 340 million unique monthly visitors**, and more than 225 million reviews and opinions covering more than 4.9 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 45 countries worldwide. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors.

The Tourism Council of Frederick County (TCFC) is the recognized Destination Marketing Organization for Frederick City and Frederick County, Maryland. It operates the Frederick Visitor Center and related programs that include Destination Marketing and Group Tour Marketing. For more information about membership and the Tourism Council’s events, go to www.visitfrederick.org.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, December 2014

**Source: Google Analytics, average monthly unique users, Q1 2015

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