People around the world will have a new way to “experience” Grand Rapids with the launch of the city’s new website Tuesday night at a “GR Tweet Elite” event at the B.O.B.

“Experience Grand Rapids” is the new name of the Grand Rapids/Kent County Convention & Visitors Bureau, with their website available through www.visitgrandrapids.org or www.experienceGR.com.

After 83 years, the name change reflects the organization’s new mission to market the region as a premier location for visitors and tourists, with an emphasis on promoting the local economy.

“Throughout the past decade, Grand Rapids has emerged as one of most dynamic cities in the Midwest,” said Doug Small, president of Experience Grand Rapids, in a press release. “As a result, our business has evolved tremendously … Driven by a key priority in our four-year strategic plan – to accelerate our role within the community – this change distinctly expresses both who we are and what we do.”

The change came after two years of research on how to best promote Grand Rapids. The city’s website lists countless features of the city including hotels, exhibits, upcoming events and local businesses.

“I like that the new name expresses that everyone, whether they are a visitor or resident, can have great experiences in Grand Rapids,” said Kylen Cieslak, a GVSU grad student who is a marketing intern for the City of Grand Rapids. “There are always exciting events, activities and attractions going on in downtown Grand Rapids and the surrounding region”

Cieslak attended the Tweet Elite event to help people set up their Twitter accounts so they could tweet about the new site.

“It was neat that community members were able to come to the GR Tweet Elite and share the experience of announcing the CVB’s new name and website,” Cieslak said. “The event was a lot of fun and it was interesting to see what the attendees and people participating at home were tweeting to the event’s hash tag.”

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