Issue link: http://visitithaca.uberflip.com/i/504156
Q1 CVB Visitors Services Roundup: Chat is Where it's At YoY Foot Traffic Increase: DVC: 28% - ESD: 17% Online Chat Serves 1,465 Inquiries 106% Increase in Interactions YoY Chat Inquiries Result in 1,452 Consumer Touchpoints in Q1 Alone Transcripts from the newly implemented chat service allow the Visitors Services Team to identify top visitor questions with statistical precision. Here's what visitors ask: 255 Accommodation Requests for 911 nights 150 Direction Requests 70 Event Requests 198 Restaurant Recommendations 12 Wedding Requests 503 Florida Keys Mentions } Top Visitor Questions Chat Becomes the #1 Consumer Touchpoint All 2015 numbers in the Visitors Services department are up YoY, including East Shore Dr. walk-in traffic up 17%. Phone calls are also up 14% YoY. The largest spike was seen in chat - 1,465 inquiries made it the number one communication in 2015. } CVB Visitor Touchopints Visitor Services Outreach As outlined in our 2015 workplan, Visitor Services staff is expanding its offsite efforts to encourage additional tourism spending. In Q1, we staffed pop-up visitor centers at the IC Speedo Swim Tournament (serving 285 customers) and the Cornell Grad Fair (140 customers). CVB Mobile Technology Initiative is Underway Visit Ithaca was awarded a 2014 CFA grant for a Mobile Technology initiative that includes researching and implementing visitor services outreach via the technology travelers use most: their cell phones. Currently a vendor has been selected for project management and is seeking a technology research and design firm to begin the technical design of the project. It is likely that a round 2 funding application will be a 2015 initiative.