Tourism bureau has great things planned with redesign
Schaumburg-based Woodfield Chicago Northwest Convention Bureau, which has about 350 member towns and companies, has redesigned its tourism Web site, www.chicagonorthwest.com, which will help track hotel and other referrals, offer more information to interested tourists and strengthen their marketing efforts.
The site had a soft launch in May and an official debut this month.
The group has since continued to tweak some parts, including certain pages available in French and Spanish, said Lynda Claytor, the group's vice president of administration and marketing.
"The new system will help track all the leads and provide more accountability" for booking hotels and other businesses in the hospitality industry, Claytor said.
Previously, the group handled a database separately in the office and followed up with calls and e-mails.
The new Web site offers a sales tool called CBXchange, which confirms information immediately and allows hotels and other groups to get a thumbnail view to track the leads, she said.
During a sluggish economy, such efforts are necessary to boost tourism.
It also helps to streamline the work that leads to successful conventions, meetings or other events booked at about 45 local hotels.
It's still being determined how many people use the new Web site. The previous one had as many as 45,000 visits per month, said Claytor.
"We're still hoping to add more language translations and other functions to help our members and visitors," she said.
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