When you’re developing a new site for a historic and classic destination, it’s all about function, function, function.
With a product like the storied and breathtakingly beautiful Catskill region, it’s easy to have a good-looking Website. But it’s another question entirely whether the site works as smartly and diligently as the people it represents.
With the growing number of travelers who research, plan and book their vacations online, without the aid of travel agencies or other services, tourism organizations have recognized the need to operate Websites that are more than electronic versions of their brochures.
The Catskill region, which includes four counties, a large geographical area and a dizzying event calendar, needed a site that would function seamlessly and be user-friendly for visitors who used the site, for tourism officials who managed updates and for the various interests who needed to analyze the kind of data that will help them understand their consumer base and grow their numbers.
Beauty and Brains
GrafiQa designed a site for Visit the Catskills that is easy to navigate for the traveler who is looking for lodging, major attractions, a calendar of events and general information about the region, how to get there and what to do there.
The site contains an interactive, searchable list of area businesses and attractions, a seasonal calendar of events, as well as a full events calendar that automatically updates itself based on event expiration dates.
And because the site covers such a large geographical area, our rotating event calendar is programmed to give each county equal time in the spotlight.
But the really cool functionality happens under the surface.
To begin with, the site is tagged and optimized for search engine efficiency. Beyond that, the site itself serves as a virtual marketing department, providing trackable contact and travel guide request forms, and interactive newsletter form and a completely trackable statistical tool covering the entire site.
Welcome traffic
The results have been even better than hoped. Not only has the site witnessed increased traffic, but the traffic now translates into hard data that can be uised to increase tourism in the area.
Visit the Official Catskills website |
