2018 Oasis Awards

(Greater Palm Springs, CA) – June 12, 2018 – With more than 640 in attendance, the Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) honored members of the local hospitality industry at the 2018 Oasis Awards Wednesday at the Renaissance Indian Wells Resort & Spa in Indian Wells, California.  The theme of this year’s celebration was “One Oasis.”

The Oasis Awards celebrates the brightest stars in tourism in Greater Palm Springs.  More than 160 nominations were submitted. Awards were presented in five categories: Sales & Events, Experiences, Hotels & Resorts, Health & Wellness, Culinary.  

Four major awards for recognition in Partnership, Sustainability, Destination Excellence and Dedication were also presented.  CVB Board Treasurer Aftab Dada presented the Spirit of Tourism Award to Goldenvoice, for the spotlight its festivals have brought to Greater Palm Springs. A special recognition was given to Mike Stutz, general manager of Gulf California Broadcast Company. Stutz who is retiring was presented a CVB commissioned SHAG painting for his years of dedication to the community and support of Greater Palm Springs events and businesses.

Recognizing the importance to the future of tourism, six years ago the CVB began working with the students at the Hospitality Academy at Coachella Valley High School. This year seven students from the Hospitality Academy were awarded 2018 CVB Scholarships in the amount of $1800 to be used toward his or her college tuition.   

Expounding on the theme “One Oasis,” White thanked the hospitality community for working together to make the CVB’s marketing promises a reality for every visitor.  In 2017, Greater Palm Springs welcomed 13 million visitors who spent $5.5 billion locally -- up 37% since 2011. 

Tom Tabler, Chair of the CVB Board of Directors spoke on the importance of finding solutions to challenges to growth. Tabler said the industry must look at all opportunities that can lead to greater visitation to help reach the grow tourism to 16.6 million by 2026 as presented in the 2016 CVB Destination Development Plan.

Showcasing collaboration across the cities, La Quinta Mayor Linda Evans, Chair of the CVB Joint Powers Authority, introduced the Summer Chill Co-op campaign featuring 15 CVB partners.  The television spots will run in key markets through August.

CBS Local 2 news anchor Brooke Beare emceed the event with the CVB’s Wander List host Anndee Laskoe.

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Oasis Awards
The Greater Palm Springs CVB’s Oasis Awards is a concerted effort to demonstrate travel's positive impact on local workers, businesses, economies and, of course, the personal lives of visitors. The goal is to unite the area’s travel community with its supporters and publicly represent the importance of travel to elected officials, local residents and media as an economic driver for Greater Palm Springs.

Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau
The Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is the official tourism agency for the entire Coachella Valley, providing sales, marketing and promotional efforts targeted to potential leisure and convention group markets. The CVB serves more than 2,000 business partners throughout Riverside County’s nine-city region of Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Indio and Coachella.  For more information on Greater Palm Springs visit www.visitgreaterpalmsprings.com.

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