CT Tourism Presence on the World Wide Web

CT Tourism Presence on the World Wide Web
www.CTvisit.com

In order for the Tourism Division to respond quickly to requests for information from points outside the United States, and spontaneous travelers from within, the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism maintains a presence on the World Wide Web. The URL or address for the “Official” Connecticut Tourism Home Page is http://www.tourism.state.ct.us or as shown in our print and media advertising www.CTvisit.com.

Includes the following state-of-the-art features:
User Friendly Searching - a powerful search engine that can be used to search by attraction type, accommodation type, area of the state, and keywords that will search for exact matches.
Create an Itinerary - users can now create their own personal itinerary by selecting from the attractions, accommodations, special events, or getaways in which they have an interest. Travel items can be added or deleted from the itinerary by the user and if planning a trip with a friend or family, can e-mail the itinerary to them. The itinerary that is created will be stored on the site, and can be re-accessed by a user name and password or by agreeing to place a cookie on their computer. The cookie gives the user instant access to their itinerary upon their next visit to the site.
Specials and Packages - Connecticut property marketing managers can register online to have their discount/special offers and packages on the tourism web site. The information will appear with their online listing of their property, as well as a “Specials” section accessed from the Tourism Division’s home page.
Maps and Weather - each travel listing includes a map to their establishment and the current weather for their town.
What Is Nearby? - all travel listings include their own search feature, so users can search for “What To Do” or “Where To Stay” within a 5, 10 or 25 mile radius of the current listing that is displayed.
Changing Content - getaways offering multi-day itineraries are now randomly displayed, by season, on the Tourism Division’s home page and most secondary pages of the site.
Anything New or Interesting? - highlights for the month or season are now prominently displayed on the CTvisit.com home page.
Other sections include:
· Connections – How will you connect to the numerous attractions that Connecticut has to offer? We now make it easy for site users to Connect with our offerings through the interest categories of Active Adventures, Arts & Culture, Family Fun, History, and Rest & Relaxation. Introductions to each “Connection” category will be updated on a seasonal basis, with links provided to related Getaways, Travel Stories, Events and Attractions.
· 52 Great Getaways - a collection of multi-day itineraries that provide the user with quick getaway ideas throughout the year.
· Events - listings of events throughout the state by month. Events can be searched either by a date range or the use of keywords. (Coming soon event type category searching)
· Tourism Regions - listings of “Don’t Miss” attractions, with links to the regional marketing organization and complete listings of accommodations and attractions within each region. Just click on the region of interest in the rotating map.
· Travel Stories – CTvisit.com now offers travel stories for our site users. Connecticut personalities, travel writers and authors help provide a in depth look into many uniquely Connecticut attractions and activities.
· Press Room – Press and members of the tourism industry can visit to view updates on the state of tourism in Connecticut.
· Tourism Industry Services – a link to the Connecticut Culture and Tourism – Tourism Division section which provides a listing of all Division staff and the services we provide.
· Online Order Form - users can request a copy of the Connecticut Vacation Guide and Culture Guide.
· Connecticut E-Newsletter - a self subscribe list for site users to receive future Connecticut tourism information.
· Want to Take Part in the Internet Revolution?
In 2007, our site received over 10 million page views, and was visited over 2.1 million times. If you are interested in taking advantage of this free opportunity to have thousands of potential new travelers visiting your web site, contact:

Robert Damroth, Webmaster
PHONE: (860) 256-2749
E-MAIL: robert.damroth@ct.gov

Jean Hebert, Online Listings Editor
PHONE: (860) 256-2739
E-MAIL: jean.hebert@ct.gov