The Knoxville Tourism and Sports Commission has rebranded itself as Visit Knoxville, a name it hopes will be more familiar to meeting planners and reduce confusion about the organization’s purpose.
“Visit Knoxville instantly identifies our industry and business,” said Kim Bumpas, president of Visit Knoxville. “We needed a name that represents a call to action and brings visitors to Knoxville and Knox County,” said Bumpas, “and ‘visit’ is the word.”
The use of “visit” in CVBs’ monikers is becoming more common: Pittsburgh; Orlando; Charlotte; Portland, Ore.; Buffalo; Norfolk, Va.; and Fort Wayne, Ind., are among those that have adopted the name.
Visit Knoxville is working on a study to develop the Knoxville brand and design convention and leisure marketing campaigns around it. “Tourism is big business in Tennessee and in Knoxville,” said Bo Connor, chairman of the Visit Knoxville board of directors. “It is important that we develop a regional and national image that will position Knoxville in other marketplaces as a viable destination for meetings and visitors.”
