As one of the first convention and visitors bureaus in the State of Illinois to create a Web site for visitors, the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau has continued its trend of innovation with the complete restructure of our site in 2000 and with the addition of e-commerce functions in 2001.
Grant assistance from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs’ Tourism Marketing Partnership Program allowed the Peoria Area CVB Web site to do a complete make over with newer, more interactive pages and more links to our tourism partners.
Visitors to the site can search for everything they need for their visit to the Peoria area. Meeting planners are greeted with their own section on the site allowing them to request information about Peoria Area CVB services and facilities. Maps, directions and weather sections allow the visitor to see in advance where they’re going and how they should plan their packing.
The Brag Book section features more than 20 photos of area attractions and events, while the history section includes information on how our area came to be. Visitors, along with our local residents, can use the site to see what’s happening around town by accessing the most comprehensive list of events published by any community organization.
New additions in 2001 include upgrading the site to include information on our seasonal travel packages available to the individual visitor. Once again, with assistance of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs’ Tourism Marketing Partnership Program, tourism packages listed on the Web site will soon be able to be purchased directly on the Internet, offering visitors to the Peoria area a quick, one-stop shopping experience when planning a weekend getaway—and making the Peoria Area CVB the only bureau in the state to offer such a service.
The reason for undertaking such a large overhaul of an existing site was to keep up with the trends in current online marketing and to create a site for our visitors that would allow them to access up-to-date information about the Peoria area prior to their visit. Since the redesign, visitors to the site have increased by 197 percent. This also adds up to saving the Bureau money on mailing costs.
The Peoria Area CVB strives to be an innovator in the tourism industry. In 1995, by establishing one of the first Web sites for CVBs in the state, the site was chosen as an example to be used in the Internet Sites Seminar at the Illinois Governor’s Conference on Tourism. In 1998, the site was again expanded for better tracking of visitors to the site. At that time, our current Web address was established.
Visitors know the importance of the Web in our daily lives. More than 90 percent of travelers are online, and 98 percent of Internet users travel regularly. Technology lends itself naturally to the visitor looking for the best value, and e-commerce increasingly is the vehicle of choice for the traveling public.
Visit our new site at www.peoria.org. IBI
