The 78th annual running of the National Retriever Club (NRC) Championships, an American Kennel Club event for retrievers, is set to take place November 10-17 at the West Kentucky Wildlife Management Area.

Paducah, KY is celebrating its fifth anniversary as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Creative City of Crafts & Folk Art. Since its designation in 2013, Paducah has boosted the local economy through tourism promotion, made invaluable relationships with cities around the world and brought global experiences and opportunities to the region.

In celebration of the fifth anniversary of Paducah’s designation as a UNESCO Creative City, Paducah is collaborating with fellow Creative Cities for a special cinematic showcase during the 2018 River’s Edge International Film Festival.

McCracken County received the Economic Engine Award from the Kentucky Travel Industry Association (KTIA) during the Budget Review Subcommittee on Economic Development, Tourism, and Environmental Protection of the Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue meeting this morning. The award is given to those counties in which tourism has had a significant impact on their local economy.

Tourism Works!, a compilation of community-level success stories produced by the Southeast Tourism Society (STS) features Paducah’s engagement with the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. The publication debuted at the STS Congressional Summit on Travel & Tourism in July.

Poland’s cities of Krakow and Katowice, Creative Cities of Literature and Music respectively welcomed the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) as hosts of the UCCN Annual Meeting, June 12-15, 2018.

Tourism spending in McCracken County grew to $233.9 million in direct expenditures in 2017 according to the 2017 Economic Impact of Kentucky Tourism Report. This represents an increase of 2.6% over 2016 and contributes to a total economic impact of $15 billion statewide.

Laura Oswald, Director of Marketing at the Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB), has completed the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Sustainable Tourism Training Program (STTP), earning the GSTC Certificate in Sustainable Tourism.

San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico, has invited Paducah to participate in a unique collaboration of UNESCO Creative Cities during the first artisanal and gastronomic festival “Sabores y Saberes,” February 2-5, 2018.

Mary Hammond, Executive Director, Paducah Convention and Visitors Bureau was recognized with the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce Summit Award for “literally putting our community on an international map.”