FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 13, 2004  

Maine Office of Tourism Selects Davidson-Peterson Associates as Internet Research Partner  

Kennebunk, ME – The Maine Office of Tourism has selected Davidson-Peterson Associates (DPA) to manage the state’s first Internet research program for its tourism site, www.visitmaine.com.  

The Internet research study for Maine will assess the state’s online marketing efforts in several areas, including:   

• Website visitor profiling:  This research will help gauge the role that visitmaine.com plays in visitors’ travel planning by profiling who visits the website, where they’re from, and what they’re looking for; and

• Website visitor conversion:  This conversion analysis quantifies the website’s effectiveness in converting website visitors to state visitors.  DPA will work in conjunction with the State Planning Office to estimate the dollars brought to the state by those who visit Maine ’s tourism website.

Davidson-Peterson Associates is delighted to be serving Maine ’s Office of Tourism, the official marketing organization that promotes the state’s second-largest industry.  DPA Managing Director, Karen Ida Peterson, states: “The Internet is the most exciting development in the tourism industry as both an informational and marketing tool.  The majority of travelers today use the web for trip planning, so it’s critically important that the State keep up with improvements and advancements to remain competitive.”   

DPA will draw from thousands of website visitors as well as its own survey panel to conduct its comprehensive research program.  The firm has recently conducted similar studies for the tourism offices of Michigan and Wisconsin , which have made significant enhancements to their sites based on DPA’s input.  

Davidson-Peterson Associates is the travel and tourism research division of Digital Research, Inc., a full-service marketing research firm and two-time recipient of the American Marketing Association’s EXPLOR Award for Exemplary Performance and Leadership in Online Research. Davidson-Peterson Associates has been providing direction in travel and tourism since 1974.  The nationally known company has conducted travel-related research in 47 of the 50 states and has worked directly for the tourism offices of 34 states.