ROANOKE (WSLS 10) - Visit Virginia's Blue Ridge is installing kiosks in high-traffic areas across the Roanoke Valley. The move is part of a continued effort to attract more people to our region.
"Welcome to Virginia's Blue Ridge," a friendly voice coming from a kiosk greets and draws in visitors at the door.
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"Here's a quick video showcasing all of the amazing experience you can have just within an hour's drive," said the voice.
This is a tourism effort by Virginia's Visitor's Bureau to cross promote the metro-mountain mix. The display will sit in various high traffic areas.
The Visitor's Bureau will install 20 kiosks, including one at the Taubman Museum.
"The past couple of weeks, we've noticed as people walk through the front door it grabs their attention," said Della Watkins, the museum's executive director.
The bureau partnered with Kroger for a similar campaign that proved to be successful two years ago.
"The way we measure our success is the number of people that visit our website," said Landon Howard, president of Visit Virginia's Blue Ridge. "So, we've been seeing upwards to 2,200 new customers per day taking a look at our website."
During the first campaign with Kroger, the Visitor's Bureau was able to track how much tourism the kiosks generated. Management told us this tactic attracted nearly 600,000 visitors. That resulted in an estimated $185-million in direct spending.
So far, 11 kiosks have been installed in this newest campaign. Each unit costs the Visitor's Bureau about $3,000.
"It's fun to see how our visitors are asking new questions," said Watkins. "The questions range from where something is, to hours and if we've been there."