FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:   

                        Pam Haller

                        715-832-0029

                        pam@chippewavalley.net      

CHIPPEWA VALLEY CVB TO CHANGE NAME, LOCATION;

LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY AND SPECIFIC LOCAL DESTINATIONS

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Feb. 3, 2009) — With everything from Country Jam, nature hikes, bike trails and sports events, the communities of Eau Claire, Altoona, Menomonie, Town of Union, Town of Wheaton and the neighboring areas have a lot to offer potential travelers. These travelers brought in more than $315 million dollars of revenue to the region in 2007. But how do they find us?

To better take advantage of emerging travel search technologies and evolving consumer preferences, the Chippewa Valley Convention and Visitor’s Bureau will change its name to Visit Eau Claire, effective immediately. In conjunction with the new name, a new, interactive Web site will launch in late March and the CVB office will move into a new location in early May.

“Our area is a great place to visit, but our research shows that the online process for planning vacations, meetings and tournaments has changed dramatically in recent years, making it more difficult for visitors to find us,” said Linda Adler, Executive Director for Visit Eau Claire. “Instead of mailers and visits to visitor centers, travelers increasingly look to the Internet for ideas, recommendations, virtual tours, and to book travel.”

She added, “Our efforts will ensure that our local member cities and destinations are there to be found where the majority of travelers are looking.”

The new identity and marketing strategies are being rolled out on several fronts, each designed to maximize new technologies and consumer/traveler preferences:

• The new name, Visit Eau Claire, anchors the CVB and its Web site to destinations readily searchable on maps and online search engines, which didn’t recognize the previous name.
• A new, interactive Web site and area travel portal will launch in late March, highlighting Eau Claire destinations and linking to other specific community-based sites. Interactive sites for other member communities will follow, leveraging the latest social online media, search engine optimization, and relationship marketing.
• In May, the CVB will move to a new office location at the Builders Crossing — 4319 Jeffers Road, Eau Claire, WI. This move signals a transition away from the seldom-used static visitor’s center to a more mobile visitor center that maximizes the variety of locations and events in this area. Consistent with the culture of the community, the new office is designed to be environmentally friendly and save energy costs, while at the same time being positioned centrally within the region they represent.

Regarding the new office, Adler added, “Traffic through the Eau Claire Visitor Center has dwindled to less than 7,000 visitors in the last year from a high of over 30,000 visitors when the center opened in 1994.  We are excited about the opportunity to be more efficient — reaching people in their homes/businesses with online visitor centers and coming to them when they get here with mobile visitor centers that can go out to the local events and destinations.”

The CVB’s efforts are significant. Travel and tourism accounted for an estimated $315 million in revenues in 2007. The new name, Web site and marketing efforts are the latest in the CVB’s continuing work to promote the region’s attractions for vacations, meetings and tournaments.

About Visit Eau Claire

Visit Eau Claire promotes the 2,500-square-miles of rolling hills nestled in west central Wisconsin along the banks of the Eau Claire, Chippewa and Red Cedar rivers.  Located just 90 minutes east of the Twin Cities on I-94, it includes the communities of Eau Claire, Menomonie, Town of Union, Town of Wheaton and Altoona.