LVCVA launches new travel Web site

Thursday, March 31, 2005 | 10:53 a.m.

Officials with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority say their new Internet site -- www.VisitLasVegas.com -- won't compete with existing sites about the city and is designed to convince undecided travelers to commit to visiting Southern Nevada.

The LVCVA unveiled the Web site today, reformatting and enhancing information that previously had been provided on the organization's www.vegasfreedom.com and www.vegas24hours.com sites. The site is designed to provide information and direct traffic to the city's resorts, restaurants, entertainment and amenities and fill the city's 130,000 motel and hotel rooms.

"We've structured the site to accommodate people who are coming to Las Vegas to plan their activities and for those who come across the medium who haven't made a decision yet to make the decision to come to Las Vegas," said Kevin Bagger, director of Internet marketing and research for the LVCVA.

"There's a lot more imagery and graphics to the site with enhanced narrative and editorial content and we've changed a lot of the way the material is presented," Bagger said. "We've worked to make the navigation as intuitive as possible."

The new VisitLasVegas.com site is divided into five sections: Stay, Play, Special Offers, Features and My Vegas. The Stay and Play sections offer profiles of resorts and attractions and entertainment options available to visitors. The Special Offers section will post special rates and offers posted by resorts.

The Features section includes facts and figures about the city and a recounting of the history of Las Vegas while My Vegas allows visitors to create personalized lists of their favorite activities in the city and share them with family and friends via e-mail.

Like previous LVCVA Internet sites, VisitLasVegas.com allows visitors to link directly to resort sites to make room reservations.

A spokesman for VEGAS.com, an Internet site that enables customers to book rooms and travel to Las Vegas, said the new site wouldn't create any additional competition.

Bryan Allison, director of Internet marketing for VEGAS.com, said people who want additional information about Las Vegas would continue to use his site and others because they offer content not offered by the LVCVA.

VEGAS.com is part of the Greenspun Media Group, which publishes the Las Vegas Sun.

Bagger did not have a breakdown of the cost of establishing the new Web site, saying that the project was a part of the LVCVA's $75 million marketing budget this fiscal year.