How convention, visitors bureaus help regions

BANGOR – As the Greater Bangor Convention AND Visitors Bureau gears up for the summer season, many people in the Bangor area may be asking, What exactly does a convention and visitors bureau do? And why is it any different from what a chamber of commerce does?

By definition, CVBs are local tourism marketing organizations specializing in attracting conventions, meetings, conferences and visitors to a city, county or region. A chamber of commerce is an organization that specializes in local economic development, of which tourism may be a part.

In Maine, there are only two CVBs, in Bangor and Portland. There are more than 60 chambers of commerce.

The easiest way to describe the region’s CVB is that it is a nonprofit, membership-based organization based in Bangor, with services to the region, including Bar Harbor, Millinocket and Greenville area member businesses. In general, it provides tourism or destination marketing services to its members.

The organization specializes in everything relating to a tourism business, including cooperative marketing, advertising, promotions; organizing, planning and executing meetings and events that come to the area; tourism product planning and development, such as organizing regional vacation packages or creating day trip ideas; customer service and regional destination training for front-line employees; and tourism consulting nationwide.

The CVB handles more than 1,200 visitor inquiries per year for information on the area from more than 20 states and many countries. It greets each cruise ship that arrives at the Bangor waterfront and offers a concierge service to all passengers.

The CVB also offers tours of Bangor, both motorized and walking.

The “TommyKnocker and More” Bus Tour was devised as a Stephen King literary tour, but also provides educational information about the history and culture of Bangor. The CVB also offers a historic walking tour of the downtown area, which entertains as it educates about the history and happenings of downtown Bangor.

CVB also operates two visitor information centers – one at the Bangor International Airport and one at its office in Eastern Maine Development Corp., 40 Harlow St.

Regarding meetings, conventions and events, the CVB handles more than 70 requests for proposals each year. When meeting planners are looking for a location for an event, they send the CVB specifics on their event and the CVB passes those along to members. Members then send bids or quotes to host the event back to the CVB and meeting planners.

CVB also distributes proposals to groups looking for hotel rooms or caterers. Last year, proposals came from more than 16 states and the United Kingdom and Canada.

The Greater Bangor CVB has been a founding partner in some of the region’s most popular events and activities, including the Bangor Garden Show, the National Folk Festival, The Maine Highlands Corp., the Ultimate Chef Competition, the Original Bangor Brownie Mix and the Bangor Car Show Wheels on the waterfront.

For information, call the CVB office at 947-5205 or visit www.VisitBangorMaine.com.