Connecticut Tourism Promotion Starts with Listening Tour

There was a whole lot of listening going on in Connecticut throughout the month of May, as the state’s Tourism Office conducted a “listening tour” that stopped in nine communities across the state.

Director of Tourism Rachel Lenda and Brand Director Ellen Woolf were the lead listeners, as the initiative went to North Grosvenordale, Norwich, Windsor Locks, West Hartford, Branford, Norwalk, Litchfield and Sandy Hook.

These sessions were designed to build on the momentum generated with all 500+ attendees at ConConn ’24, with plans to engage in “meaningful in-person dialogues to discuss what is working well, what we can improve, and how we can strengthen our collaborations in the year ahead,” officials indicated.  “By aligning our strategies, messaging, and tactics, we can amplify recognition of Connecticut from both the top down and from the grassroots up.”

The initiative allowed state tourism officials to hear directly from “various stakeholders to gather information, exchange ideas, and strengthen relationships within the tourism sector,” according to advance publicity of the sessions. 

The 2024 Strategic Plan of the Connecticut Office of Tourism has among its priorities a goal to “fuel the momentum in changing perceptions of the state, shattering the erroneous perception that the state is lackluster and enlightening the world on our true diversity, energy, and rich tapestry of offerings” as well as to “improve channels of communication with all tourism industry businesses to better understand our offerings and challenges so that we might unify strategies for support.”

According to the tourism agency, CTvisit.com is the hub of Connecticut Tourism’s marketing communications. The site received  7.1 million visits in 2022 and is trending closer to 8 million for 2024, significantly more than any other state in the region. A research study showed that Connecticut  ranks in the top 5 state tourism websites for traffic and top 10 for engagement.