PAWTUCKET – The Blackstone Valley Tourism Council has won the prestigious “Destination Award” presented by the World Travel & Tourism Council.

The announcement was made last week at the WTTC’s 8th Global Travel & Tourism Summit in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

The award has never been won before by an organization in the United States, according to BVTC Director Robert D. Billington. The awards recognize and promote best practices in sustainable tourism development all over the world.

“Working with a wide range of multi-stakeholders, BVTC has shown that tourism can play a key role in helping to revitalize a downtrodden economy and bring back a river once declared dead to the benefit of local people, business and nature,” said a panel of four judges.

“We won, we actually won,” Natalie Carter, director of BVTC operations told Providence Business News last week. “We don’t have too much information, but we won.” •