ALBUQUERQUE, NM – The Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) is proud to announce the launch of the new website promoting Albuquerque – located at www.itsatrip.org. A vibrant new design showcases the rich culture and heritage of the area while providing powerful new online tools for planning a visit to Albuquerque throughout the 400+ pages of the new www.itsatrip.org website.
            The Albuquerque CVB, in partnership with Aristotle Interactive, developed the new website with a design that reflects the new ACVB branding and advertising campaign.  The new website brings a sophisticated design incorporating a punched tinwork border of the ad ACVB campaign, developed in 2006. The branding campaign centers around the authentic Southwestern heritage and rich culture that permeates throughout the Albuquerque area. The Albuquerque CVB commissioned local artists to design and craft distinctive pieces of Spanish-inspired punched tin, a Western-inspired tooled leather frame and an authentic piece of Native American pottery to be used as the basis for the campaign visual design.
            Albuquerque's authentic culture and heritage, dramatic landscape, tremendous outdoor recreation opportunities and passion for hot-air ballooning have become the core components of the marketing elements used in conjunction with the artistic designs of the campaign. These elements identify Albuquerque's distinctive characteristics.
            The Albuquerque CVB website integrates several exciting technologies available on the Web today including RSS feeds, PDA Mobile content, online video integration and extensive behind-the-scene content management tools that enable the staff to make quick changes.  Many new features have been added to the site to improve the visitor trip planning experience as well as the usability and functionality of the site including the following.

Photos & Videos - More than 250 photos and 17+ videos
Maps  - More than 65 maps are included in color and black and white
Neighborhood Guide - Detailed articles, photos and maps about each unique area of town
PDA/Mobile Site - A micro-site with listings optimized for web-enabled PDA and cell phones that allow users to avoid download time for graphics 
RSS Feeds - Updated events and media releases available through RSS subscriptions
Site Search - An integrated database search powered by Google
Trip Planner - Tool that allows you to create and share a customized itinerary
Uniquely Albuquerque - Articles that highlight what makes Albuquerque so special

"Our new site is a dynamic representation of what Albuquerque has to offer," said Dale Lockett, Albuquerque CVB President/CEO. "I am confident that the new design paired with the new features this website offers will be powerful in bringing more people to experience all that Albuquerque has to offer including rich culture and heritage, tremendous outdoor recreation opportunities, fantastic year-round climate and majestic high desert beauty."
            The Albuquerque CVB is one of the first convention and visitors bureaus in the country to take advantage of the popularity of online video and Flash's ability to integrate video in its innovative main page flash movie.  
            "Overall, the site stands out for demonstrating the best of the latest trends of web design and technology convergence, while staying true to its brand appeal, rich artistic and cultural heritage, and dedication to ease of use and customer service.  It represents all that's good about destination marketing on the Web," said Marla Johnson Norris, CEO, Aristotle Inc.
Additional content, tools and resources have been created for special Albuquerque CVB audiences including Meeting & Event Professionals, Travel Professionals and Media representatives. These audiences are encouraged to stay current on Albuquerque news by subscribing to the new RSS feeds, which are available to provide regular updates on media releases and Albuquerque events.

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The mission of the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau is to stimulate economic growth by marketing Albuquerque as a visitor and convention destination. For more information, please call 505.842.9918 or visit our web site at www.itsatrip.org.