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EcoTravelers Go Wild for Sarasota

Challenge

Though Sarasota and Her Islands are best known for their award-winning beaches, they also have over 2,000 acres of parks, trails and preserves as well as 50 square miles of waterways. These are precisely the amenities today's eco-traveler wants. But the discovernaturalsarasota.org site lacked the interactivity and style to show would-be visitors the natural beauty and array of outdoor adventures waiting for them in Sarasota and Her Islands. And because the site was cumbersome to update, new parks, trails and sanctuaries were often neglected from the site.

Solution

Working with the Sarasota Convention & Visitors Bureau (SCVB) and the Sarasota County Government, Science and Environment Council of Sarasota County, and the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast, atLarge created a roadmap to appeal to nature-loving travelers' sense of action and exploration. The site transports visitors to natural wonders like the campgrounds of Myakka State Park, the courtyards of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens and the horseback trails of Deer Prairie Creek Preserve. In addition to the immersive design and panoramic visuals, the site features adventure tips and eco-travel articles as well as links for everything from kayak rentals to area wildlife sanctuaries. To save time and sanity for the SCVB team, the Content Management System was integrated with their main web site so they could tag eco listings that they wanted pulled into both sites and quickly add or edit natural attractions. Visitors also had the ability to create a nature itinerary and share it with friends and subscribe to SCVB email updates through the mySarasota account feature.

Result

The sophisticated eco-traveler finally had a sense of all Sarasota and Her Islands had to offer and they couldn't get enough. Likewise, Sarasota and Her Islands' natural assets (beyond the award-winning beaches) were getting the attention they deserved. Within a year, the new site garnered a 8,973 percent increase in visits, a 3,850 percent increase in pageviews and a 3,066 percent increase in organic traffic.