Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/405793
B M & T ••• July/August 2014 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 8 VISIT JACKSONVILLE INTRODUCES NEW LOOK, FUNCTIONALITY AT VISIT JACKSONVILLE.COM Website Redesign Incorporates Latest Technology and Enhancements To Market Destination Visit Jacksonville, the city's destination marketing organization, has unveiled its new website at www.visitjacksonville.com – drawing on the latest technology to improve functionality and provide an enhanced user experience for potential visitors, meeting professionals, media, Visit Jacksonville Partners and local residents. "With 88 percent of travelers using the Internet to plan trips and book travel, our website is a very important communications tool when it comes to marketing our destination to both potential leisure travelers and convention and meeting planners who are considering Jacksonville for their next trip or event, " said Visit Jacksonville President and CEO Paul Astleford. "The redesigned site is visually spectacular and inter- active, and has several new elements that will make it easy, informative and fun for all visitors to become familiar with Jacksonville and all we have to offer." Over half of the visitors to the Visit Jacksonville website are using mobile and tablet devices. With that in mind Tempest Interactive Media worked closely with the Visit Jacksonville team to design and develop a state-of-the-art, future-proof website that can adapt to any mobile, tablet, or desktop viewing experience. By utilizing Responsive Design with advanced server side technologies, the new website not only renders on all existing devices on the market today, but will adapt to new devices that may be released in the future, providing Visit Jacksonville with a strong foundation for future marketing efforts. "Google recently reported that 89 percent of travel planning activi- ties begin on one device and are completed on another" said Gregg Shapiro, chief creative officer at Tempest. "The analytics for Visit Jacksonville's website support that. We wanted to reimagine the online experience to leverage today's intersectional browsing behavior, as users come to expect a seamless online experience as they move between web-enabled devices." The Tucson-based Tempest Interactive Media previously developed several of Visit Jacksonville's award-winning web- sites. The new site provides a one-stop resource for groups and leisure travelers planning a trip to the Jacksonville area, highlighting the various areas throughout the city through the use of rich content, multimedia components including streaming videos and updated photography. MUSEUM OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA (MOAD) In October 2014, Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) will reopen after a $1.3 million renovation that will refresh the museum's overall look and feel, make the ground floor more inviting and create more exhibit space. MoAD is one of the only museums in the world focused exclusively on African Diaspora culture and on pre- senting the rich cul- tural products of the people of Africa and of African descen- dant cultures across the globe. The renovation is the first major step in an effort to transi- tion the facility from a museum that houses temporary exhibits into a fine arts museum with a national presence that showcases both permanent and rotating collections. When it opened in December 2005, MoAD joined a dynamic cultural corridor with its neighbors SFMOMA, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the Children's Creativity Museum, the Cartoon Art Museum and the Contemporary Jewish Museum. For information, visit www.moadsf.org . NEW ORLEANS TO HOST IPW 2016 The U.S. Travel Association announced recently that New Orleans will be the venue for IPW 2016 — the first time the block- buster travel industry event has returned to the Crescent City since 2002. New Orleans also previously hosted the annual five-day event, formerly known as International Pow Wow, in 1993 and 1979. IPW is the largest travel trade show in North America — a one-stop opportunity for U.S. destinations, attractions and businesses to show- case themselves to thousands of influential travel professionals from I N T H E N E W S