While most people were spending Christmas Day opening presents, eating big meals and enjoying time with family, Sean Dixon was busy checking website numbers.
Dixon had a big goal for the Convention & Visitors Bureau website this year and on Christmas Day, his dream came true.
Dixon, interactive media manager for the CVB, wanted to break a record for the site at www.SpringfieldMO.org by reaching 1 million visits by the end of the year. On Dec. 25, the site topped that goal at 1,000,268 and has reached 3.3 million page views.
“I wasn’t sure we would reach it,” Dixon said. “I guess Santa wanted to be nice this year.”
The site designed to give visitors and locals information on things to do, places to stay, events, etc., has been a labor of love for Dixon who works daily to improve the site so it is user friendly, attractive and informative and helps local businesses attract customers.
More than 300 area businesses, in fact, have descriptive listings on the site along with coupons and advertisements. The site also includes a blog with feature stories about attractions, events, restaurants and more.
“Our blog content really pushed us over the top this year,” Dixon said. “Stories like the Hotel Vandivort bathroom selfies struck a chord with people looking for something unique about the area.”
The CVB is a nonprofit marketing agency promoting Springfield as a travel destination in order to boost the local economy. Along with the website, the bureau spends about $1 million advertising the city as a place to visit, annually publishes a visitors guide and coupon book, works to bring conventions and other group events to the city and conducts a variety of other marketing activities that help bring thousands of people to the city each year.
An estimated 3 million visitors spend the night in Springfield each year and countless daytrippers come to the city.