CORNING – After months of voting, posting on social media platforms, and making one awesome video, Corning has officially been named the “Most Fun” Small Town in America in Rand McNally’s “Best of the Road” contest! A team of travel editors spent the last two weeks reviewing each town’s video submission and essay, and announced the winners today.
Corning was among 30 finalist towns announced in mid-September. Each town had to then prove why it deserved the title in its particular category. Each category (Most Fun, Friendliest, Best for Food, Best for Geocaching, Most Beautiful, and Most Patriotic) had five finalist towns.
Corning’s competitors included Jim Thorpe, PA; Lombard, IL; Geneva-on-the-Lake, OH; and Nocona, TX.
“Corning’s energetic video and essay submissions showcased a community that not only knows how to have a good time, but that also knows how to ensure visitors will enjoy themselves, too,” said the contest judges.
“We are so thrilled Corning has earned this designation,” said Peggy Coleman, President of the Steuben County Conference & Visitors Bureau. “It just makes it that much easier for Corning to attract tourists. Who wouldn’t want to visit the ‘most fun’ small town in America?”
This accolade comes on the heels of Hammondsport being named “Coolest Small Town in America” last year in Budget Travel’s annual conference, making Corning & the Finger Lakes one awesome place to visit!
Since Corning is now the official winner in its category, it will be the recipient of some fantastic prizes from Rand McNally. Here’s what we’ll get:
- An editorial feature within the annual Rand McNally Road Atlas plus 50,000 media impressions on maps.randmcnally.com promoting your town
- A trial license to Rand McNally’s Best Town Travels, Rand McNally’s digital travel planning guide custom developed for CVB/DMO websites and as an iPhone app
- Special coverage on bestoftheroad.com and inclusion as a point of interest in the Rand McNally RV GPS and Good Sam Trip Planner
- The Best Geocaching Category will also win a GeoTour – a tailored series of geocaches hidden at the winning town’s points of interest
- The approximate retail value of each prize is $15,000 and the approximate retail value of the Geocaching prize is $5,000
“While these are all fantastic prizes, we’re most excited about the editorial feature in the Rand McNally Road Atlas,” said Coleman. “So many travelers use that as a resource, and to have Corning’s information featured prominently when you open the atlas is an invaluable advantage. It’s the kind of publicity that a small town would never be able to afford otherwise.”
The Steuben County Conference & Visitors Bureau was established in 1994. As Steuben County’s official tourism marketing agency, our mission is to aggressively promote the visitor industry year-round and thereby stimulate economic growth. Steuben County is home to the World’s Most Beautiful Wine Region (Budget Travel), America’s Coolest Small Town: Hammondsport (Budget Travel), and one of the Most Fun Small Towns: Corning (Rand McNally). It has also been recognized as a great value destination (ShermansTravel) and a top lakeside vacation (Yahoo! Travel).
