IACVB Launches Web Site Members of the International Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus turned out in large numbers at its annual meeting in late July, where CVB execs learned about a strategic plan for their future at a general session highlighting the results of a Future Study. They also learned about a new, for-profit Web initiative called OfficialTravelInfo.com, or OTI (www.officialtravelinfo.com), which in many ways addresses the brand-recognition and alliance partnering problems the Future Study identified as critical to the survival of CVBs.
OTI will serve as an Internet "front door" for nearly 1,000 convention and visitor bureaus and tourist boards across the globe. With it, CVBs aim to stake their claim as the "official" source of destination information to tourists and professional planners alike in an attempt to compete with the for-profit dot-coms, like Travelocity, which have already established an e-commerce platform, according to William Hanbury, president and CEO of the Greater Milwaukee CVB, who has spearheaded OTI's efforts with William Peeper, president of the Orlando/Orange county CVB.
Hanbury announced his resignation from the bureau (effective December 31) in order to devote full-time efforts to running OTI, which will be based in Milwaukee.
Eight technology partners have signed on as partners of OTI, including StarCite, cvent, and Passkey.
