LONG ISLAND, N.Y.
The Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau & Sports Commission (LICBVB&SC) held a launch party at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts on Wed., Nov. 2, 2016, to announce the organization has rebranded to Discover Long Island. Long Island business and attraction owners, hoteliers, local government officials and the organization’s members were in attendance to celebrate the historic event, marking the first time the organization has shifted from its LICVB&SC designation since in 1979.
While the longer, more formal “Convention and Visitors Bureau” label is still used within the industry, there has been a decided shift by designated tourism promotion agencies in recent years to rename in order to create a brand identity that is more easily relatable for visitors.
Over 40 former CVBs across the United States have renamed in the past two years alone; in most cases incorporating “Visit” with the name of the destination. Utilizing research from studies commissioned earlier this year by the organization in terms of both visitor and business propensities when seeking a destination to visit or build in, the decision was made to rebrand to “Discover.”
“We’re excited to modernize our brand identity to meet the expectations of today’s consumer,” said Steve Bate, chairman of Discover Long Island. “Our new look and feel reflects what Long Island is really about: sophisticated but unpretentious, refreshing but not flashy. We look forward to introducing the nation and the world to our truly special destination in a completely new way."
Long Island tourism is a $5.5 billion industry supporting more than 100,000 jobs in the region and generating nearly $700 million in state and local taxes each year. Long Island’s growth in the tourism sector outpaces the national average and is among the highest in New York with traveler spending increases of 3% in 2015 with more increases in the numbers for 2016 and expected for 2017, according to a recent forecast presentation by Smith Travel Research. Economic impact for local taxes generated by tourism grew by 4.1% in 2015 with $2.9 billion in Long Island labor income generated by tourism.
“The numbers are a powerful indicator of the potency and additional potential for the tourism industry on Long Island and the region deserves a tourism organization representative of that influence to continue positive momentum and growth.” said Kristen Jarnagin, president & CEO, “The launch of our new brand is one component of our fresh approach to promoting Long Island. We aim to continue developing initiatives that help our long-term growth strategy by incorporating industry trends.”
