The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA)
Target Market Segment
It is factual that the target market for all Destination Marketing Organizations (DMO) is the internet users who can easily access their websites with minimal inconveniencies. Since 2004, the number of potential internet users has been increasing significantly as the technology continues to encroach with time ((Baloglu & Pekcan, 171). Therefore, most of the DMOs in the contemporary travel and hospitality market tend to take their internet sites as a competitive advantage factor and weapon particularly in attracting and retaining new customers. This is the reason why DMOs utilize their websites maximally and optimally through continuous redesigning in order to persuade their clients (Baloglu & Pekcan, 171). Thus, most DMOs keep advancing the custom designs of their websites in order to appear attractive to the target customer base.
Precisely, the market segments targeted by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority official website includes the freely spending millennial generation particularly individuals who were born in early 1980s. This is based on the fact that this generation of individuals spend their money freely especially for entertainment. Thus, since Las Vegas is the home of entertainment, LVCVA targets millennial customers who outspend on in their entertainment trips to Las Vegas. It is presumed that the reason why the target group within this age bracket is that they have less expenses such as car payments and mortgages. Consequently, LVCVA’s website targets both local and international travelers who visit Las Vegas for entertainment.
The Effectiveness of the Website
According to Baloglu and Pekcan (pg. 172), the effectiveness of the hospitality and tourism website is based on web design and features which exhibit the brand image precisely. For instance, a site with contemporary and emerging features and contents helps the company with ample opportunities making it potential for customers’ attraction (Baloglu & Pekcan, 172). Thus citing from the 7 Cs of effective website design, LVCVA website fulfills all of them which makes it qualify to be regarded as a competent tourism and hospitality website.
To start with, the context of the site is covered with colorful pictures of the city of Las Vegas which expresses the beauty of the city thereby attracting the attention of the visitor. Additionally, the home page of the site is designed to promote readability and navigation using different icons which direct the visitor of different pages of concern such as funding & finance, extended destinations and FAQs pages. Secondly, the page hosts a space titled funding and finance that directs the visitor to making financial transactions that guarantees confidentiality and reliability of the page while making transactions. Thirdly, citing from the content of the site, the degree of leading the customer away from the main website are lower as the site hosts related stories to make sure that the visitor does not get lost. Precisely, the link hosts exclusively stories regarding Las Vegas as a travelling place. To enhance communication with the user of the site, LVCVA website gives the visitors an option of contacting their customer care department using an icon titled “Contact Us” at the bottom space of the page. Additionally, the site hosts a space for most frequently asked questions that direct the user to a page with those questions and their answers. On the basis of the content, the page uses colorful pictures of Las Vegas where some of them have transitions to create motion pictures. However, the site lacks sounds, animation and music. However, the site lacks user-to-user communication thereby denying users chances of sharing their experiences and ideas. Lastly, the site promotes customization using an icon at the top of the page indicating the language options for different visitors. This shows that the site allows all the visitors to personalize aspects of the site.
Work Cited
Baloglu, S., & Pekcan, A. Yakup. The website design and internet site marketing practices of upscale and luxury hotels in turkey. Tourism Management 27 (2006) 171–176
