The Lima/Allen County Convention & Visitors Bureau is now Visit Greater Lima. The name change has come as a result of strategic Board and industry discussions, and as part of the CVB’s 2015 5-year strategic plan.
“The CVB began in 1978, and is celebrating its 40th Anniversary as the official convention & visitors bureau in Allen County, and that role continues” said Christine Pleva, Executive Director of Visit Greater Lima. “We will always be the CVB; however with this milestone anniversary comes the need to keep the bureau contemporary and to reflect the true nature of the role it plays in economic development”. After much research, communication and planning, the organization decided to focus on its identity and purpose and to assume a trade name that reflected that.
Destination Marketing is the bureau’s main focus, and this name change clarifies our purpose and paves the way for further collaboration with our economic development partners around the region for future growth. "With our continued and increasing efforts in the economic development of the community via tourism, it was time to clarify who we are and what we do”, said Pleva. With tourism generating spending of over $315 million in Allen County, it is clear that it is a vital economic generator.
"During our strategic planning and our continued participation in the evolving Greater Lima Region collaborative communication & growth plan, it became evident that the bureau’s function in economic development not only continues to grow but is the first step in the ongoing development of the region” said Pleva. “Before someone chooses to move here, work here, or start a business or corporation here, they first are going to visit here.”
In looking at the trends in destination marketing organizations and their relationships to the communities they serve, the CVB wanted an identity that was a call to action, a name that focused on the destination not the organization, a name that is current and curbs any confusion about who the bureau is and what it does. Visit Greater Lima is a name that positions the CVB as the vital first step in attracting visitors of all types: leisure, group, meeting & event, and the business traveler who can then choose to make Lima & Allen County a place to work, build and live.