CARLISLE, PA (November 11, 2009) - North Star Destination Strategies visited the Cumberland Valley area from November 4-6. North Star was hired by the Cumberland Valley Visitors Bureau (CVVB) to help brand the Cumberland Valley to promote it as a destination for business and leisure travelers.

The process began with a survey that was emailed to 300 Cumberland County stakeholders, ranging in age, geographic location and business sector.

The visit included a two day county-wide Familiarization Tour with 26 stops at retail, restaurant and attraction locations from the western part of the county to the eastern.

The remainder of their visit was dedicated to 20 one-on-one interviews, a focus group session and mystery shopping at various Cumberland County businesses. Individuals selected were from all areas of business including government, retail, restaurant, lodging, education and attraction venues.

North Star will use the information gathered from the survey, the Familiarization Tour and the interviews to gain a better understanding of what the area has to offer and begin the creative branding process for Cumberland Valley.

The next step for North Star will be to conduct more market research for the Cumberland Valley and focus on competitive markets and why they believe visitors are coming to the area. They will develop an initial branding idea to show to the CVVB staff in December.