The Greater Pittsburgh Convention & Visitors Bureau (GPCVB) is changing its name to "VisitPittsburgh." The primary reason for the change is to eliminate the historical confusion about what the organization is and what it does.
"So many people assume we own and operate the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Most do not understand that our mission is to generate convention, trade show and leisure travel business for the Pittsburgh region and that we’re the official tourist promotion agency of Allegheny County," said Joe McGrath, president and CEO of the newly named VisitPittsburgh. The board of directors also agreed that a name change was in order. "The consensus was that there is indeed a need for our name to more clearly identify what it is we do – and that is to bring people to visit the Pittsburgh region. In addition, the name relates directly to our Web site – www.visitpittsburgh.com – which will clearly help to solidify the brand and clarify our mission." It's worth noting that 91 percent of the leisure visitors who contact the organization, do so through the visitpittsburgh.com Web site.
There is a growing trend towards simplifying convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) names. The Greater Milwaukee Convention & Visitors Bureau changed its name to "Visit Milwaukee" last year. Charlotte Convention & Visitors Bureau changed its name to "Visit Charlotte." "Visit London" and "Visit Detroit" are yet other examples of recent name changes. In addition, the International Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus recently changed its name to Destination Marketing Association International.