PORT TOWNSEND — USA Today designated Port Townsend as the seventh Best Coastal Small Town this week, adding an incremental boost to tourism numbers and the town’s profile.
“We are really excited about placing seventh,” said Port Townsend Marketing Director Christina Pivarnik.
“It’s always nice to get this kind of coverage, but USA Today is so respected, making it special.”
The contest began at the end of March and lasted five weeks.
Vote totals were not disclosed, but USA Today posted daily standings on its www.10best.com site.
Port Townsend held seventh place for most of the competition.
Pivarnik received notification of results in an email from USA Today on Wednesday.
“Since your nomination was carefully made by an expert panel, and the public voted for this honor, you have earned some serious bragging rights,” the email read.
Port Townsend will be featured in a USA Today travel section story within two weeks, according to the email.
“From a tourist standpoint, this endorsement carries some weight,” said Travis Seward, USA Today vice president of travel.
Port Townsend has earned several similar awards in the past few years, including from Budget Travel, MSNBC, Fox News and Yahoo Travel.
Teresa Verraes, Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce executive director, said the benefit of such designations is cumulative and is not always apparent the same year.
“I think this year will be pretty stellar,” Verraes predicted.
“Our attention is really focused, and we are really careful about the type of people we want to visit our community.”
Events like the Wooden Boat Festival, scheduled this year for Sept. 9-11, push the town’s capacity to its limits, but Verraes said she doesn’t think Port Townsend will ever draw too many tourists.
“This place is a destination and will always be a destination,” she said.
“It is not for everyone, and we need to set aside the idea of ‘too many.’ ”
Verraes said tourism advocates are concentrating on drawing people to town during the less active “shoulder season” from October to April.
Mari Mullen, Port Townsend Main Street executive director, also predicts a healthy tourist season.
“We are looking forward to the summer,” she said.
“Port Townsend is a favorite vacation destination for shopping, dining, and arts and culture experiences and is also a hub for fantastic outdoor adventures.”
Future events include the Taste of Port Townsend on June 9 at the Northwest Maritime Center and Concerts on the Dock, occurring every Thursday from July 14 to Sept. 1.
The top 10 towns, in order from first to last, were Ogunquit, Maine; St. Simons Island, Ga.; Fernandina Beach, Fla.; Rockport, Texas; Saugatuck, Mich.; Chincoteague, Va.; Port Townsend; Tybee Island, Ga.; Gulf Shores, Ala.; and Bayfield, Wis.
Port Townsend was the only Pacific Northwest nominee in the top 10. Cannon Beach, Ore., was in the top 20.
The site www.10best.com runs about 24 contests a year, Seward said.
Most are qualitative, citing the 10 best cities or products, while others are informative, such as the 10 longest bridges.
Seward said people appreciate information that is presented in digestible bites.
“There are so many choices available, so people are looking for a recommendation about the 10 places they can go,” he said.
“We take the research and the guesswork out of those choices.”
For more information and a complete list of winners go to http://tinyurl.com/PDN-7place.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
