The new redesigned and streamlined I Love NY Web site (www.iloveny.com) is geared to be user-friendly for tourists, and also to boost traffic - both online and in person - to the state's many attractions, hotels, and other tourist destinations.
The main goal of the redesign was to make the site easier for tourists to use, not only to gather information, but to also make their reservations online, says Arnold (A.J.) Carter, senior vice president of communications for Empire State Development, which administers the I Love NY program.
In the past, people would use the Internet to get ideas and gather information, but still preferred to make a phone call to make reservations, Carter says. But today, that has changed and more and more tourists want a one-stop shop.
With enhanced online-reservation capabilities, tailored community promotional material, an online travel magazine, areas for foreign visitors, "Getaways" value-added packages, and electronic brochures, the redesigned Web site can fit the needs of just about every tourist, Carter contends.
"It's geared toward getting you to make your reservation on the spot," he says. Quick links to attractions and accommodations make it easier for travelers.
The project began about a year ago, and White and Power, Inc. of Troy did the redesign work. The project was awarded on a competitive-bid basis, Carter says, but he did not have information on the project total available.
The design was based on input from focus groups made up of tourists and tourism-industry members, Carter says. The end result is a Web site that will appeal to consumers in various stages of travel planning by giving access to more than 12,000 listings of attractions, activities, accommodations, events, and other tourism facilities across the state.
The new "Our Cities & Towns" sections give information for travelers to specific areas. "That's a new section where you can say, 'I'm going to be in suchand-such a town. What is there to do there?... Carter says.
The site has offered online reservations - for a while, but the former system was clunky and harder to use, he says.
The new site uses accommodation and campgroundreservation partnerships with the New York State Hospitality & Tourism Association; the Campground Owners of New York; the Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation; and the Department of Environmental Conservation to provide reservation access to a variety of hotels, motels, inns, bed and breakfasts, state campgrounds, and privately owned campgrounds through the site.
The I Love NY site is a "great' portal to link travelers to information about the state, says Erin Bartolo, director of communications and marketing for the Syracuse Convention and Visitors Bureau. The redesign of the site makes it even better, she notes.
"This is a little more userfriendly," she says. "It has something for everybody but doesn't sacrifice the authenticity of New York."
It also helps that I Love NY, which is marking its 30th anniversary this year, is one of the most widely recognized state brands, Bartolo says.
At $43 billion annually, tourism is a big-bucks industry in the state that employs 700,000 people directly and indirectly.
New York City has long been the tourism hub of the state, but the new I Love NY site will let travelers know there is more to see in New York than just the Big Apple, Carter says.
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