AUGUSTA, Maine – The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) recognized the Maine Office of Tourism and their advertising agency, Warren Kremer Paino (WKP), with a total of six Adrian Awards for advertising excellence.

HSMAI paid tribute to the Maine Office of Tourism and WKP during the 14 th annual HSMAI Travel Industry International Awards Night Dinner, held on Jan. 26 at the New York Marriott Marquis.

The Office of Tourism's 2003 winter advertising campaign was recognized with a gold award for their complete retail campaign, a silver merit award for their newspaper ad and a bronze merit award in the category of advertising series.

In addition, Maine's 2003 spring/summer advertising campaign received two silver merit awards in both the consumer magazine and television categories, and a bronze award in the complete campaign category

“I am proud of the work accomplished by the entire team at WKP, and honored to receive the awards recognizing the creative advertising campaigns they developed on our behalf,” said Dann H. Lewis, director of the Maine Office of Tourism.

“In addition to this prestigious recognition, we have also received positive feedback from consumers. During these two ad campaigns we received over 800,000 inquiries,” Lewis added.

The awards were handed out as part of the 2003 HSMAI International Travel Competition, the largest and most influential travel event of its kind in the world. This year's contest attracted more than 1,500 entries from 50 countries around the world, with entries judged by teams of experts from all sectors of the industry.

HSMAI is the leading organization of sales and marketing professionals representing all segments of the hospitality industry. With a strong focus on education, HSMAI has become the industry leader in identifying and communicating trends in the hospitality industry while operating as a leading voice for both hospitality and sales and marketing management disciplines. Founded in 1927, HSMAI is an individual membership organization comprised of nearly 7,000 hospitality and travel industry professionals worldwide.