Trips to Holiday World/Evansville, French Lick/West Baden, and Indiana Beach/Lafayette will be awarded to three essay winners

Voting for phase one of The Great Indiana Getaway is now complete. More than 92,000 votes were cast from July 5 to July 13 at VisitIndiana.com/greatgetaway to choose the top three destinations from a list of 12 Indiana getaways and a write-in option. Voters were asked to rank their three favorite getaways. The Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari/Evansville getaway received the most number of votes (17%), followed by French Lick/West Baden (14%), and Indiana Beach/Lafayette (10%).

Final vote percentages were based on a weighted system: a first place vote was worth five votes, a second place vote was worth three votes, and a third place vote was worth one vote. These three final destinations will now be a part of phase two of The Great Indiana Getaway, presented by the Indiana Office of Tourism Development.

During phase two, going on now through July 27, contestants can log on to VisitIndiana.com/greatgetaway and write a short essay explaining why they want to take one of the three trips. Entries must be specific to one of the getaways, but people may submit letters for all three. Detailed itineraries for each of the getaways are now available at VisitIndiana.com/greatgetaway. A panel of hospitality industry experts will select winning entries based on relevance with The Great Indiana Getaway theme, promotion of Indiana tourism, and submission of a compelling story. Three winners – one for each of the getaways – will be announced on August 1.

Winners will receive a three-day, two night trip for four to their selected getaway, a $500 Circle K gas card, and four “Making Memories” packages which include an RCA Small Wonder digital camcorder and an RCA Opal MP3 player. Video clip highlights will be posted on VisitIndiana.com.

Each person who submits an entry during phase two of The Great Indiana Getaway is automatically eligible to win one of two RCA Small Wonder digital camcorders or one of ten $100 gas cards from Circle K. Getaway winners must go on their free trip between August 1 and September 4, 2007.

“We’re thrilled to see how many people voted in phase one of the promotion,” said Amy Vaughan, director of the Indiana Office of Tourism Development. “As a result of The Great Indiana Getaway, we hope more people see Indiana as a tourism destination and that Hoosiers plan getaways closer to home.”

For more information about The Great Indiana Getaway, log on to VisitIndiana.com or call (800) 325-5386.

The Great Indiana Getaway is presented by the Indiana Office of Tourism Development, Circle K, MediaSauce, and RCA Small Wonder.