To further refine its brand identity, the North Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau is making a small but significant tweak: simplifying its name to “North Little Rock Tourism”.

The destination marketing organization (DMO) for North Little Rock is following a nationwide trend of convention & visitors bureaus shifting from “CVB” to more visitor-friendly terminology. The organization will begin doing business as North Little Rock Tourism effective immediately.

“There are multiple benefits of condensing our organizational name,” said Stephanie Slagle, TMP, Director of Marketing for North Little Rock Tourism. “Potential visitors to North Little Rock aren’t searching for “convention and visitors bureau”; we want them to be able to find us easier. Most importantly, we clearly and quickly communicate our purpose: driving tourism to North Little Rock.”

The name change follows a full rebrand in 2020 with the introduction of new colors, font and logo design featuring an “NLR” smiley face and the tagline “Up to something”. The new logo retains all the design elements.

“Aesthetically, our logo will be cleaner, easier to read and more identifiable in both print and digital,” Slagle said. “Most of our marketing is focused outwards, but to be successful we also need to increase our visibility as an organization, because our team does a lot behind-the-scenes with a real economic impact.”

North Little Rock Tourism also revealed its 2022 annual report this week, in which the organization reports that North Little Rock lodging and foodservice properties surpassed pre-COVID revenue in 2022. Lodging properties reported a $6.9 million increase in revenue over 2021 and foodservice businesses reported a $21.9 million increase in revenue over 2021. North Little Rock Tourism’s sales and marketing efforts reached more than 239 million people and resulted in an estimated $6.85 million in economic impact.