Smartphones are booming, and the Wyoming Office of Tourism knows it.

"There is no question that mobile devices have rapidly become a staple in everyday living around the world," said Diane Shober, Director of the Wyoming Office of Tourism. In fact, smartphones recently eclipsed their less intelligent counterparts in usage, now accounting for more than half of the mobile phone market. Smartphone adoption, according to one report, has been faster than any other major technology shift.

With the boom, the tourism office recently launched a mobile version of wyomingtourism.org.

"With mobile searches increasing, it was important to launch a mobile-friendly website in order to bring important information to our visitors without the inconvenience of slow-loading Web pages."

Earlier this year, the office also launched a redesigned desktop website. The new style has large images of tourist destinations in Wyoming that splash across most of the page, ranging from the Tetons and Yellowstone down to Medicine Bow National Forest near Laramie.

The mobile site is now accessible from any Internet-capable phone or smartphone, giving would-be tourists on the go a chance to find Wyoming visitor information. It can also be accessed on tablets or iPads. There is no app to download, and the site is optimized for functionality parallel to the desktop version of the Web site. Users pointing their mobile devices to the wyomingtourism.org website will automatically be redirected to the mobile version. The main goal of the site is to connect consumers with tourism-related businesses in Wyoming and provide incentive for visiting the state.
 
"The desktop version is for people researching their trip, looking at beautiful photography, videos and reading articles about the unique destinations that Wyoming has to offer," Shober said, "The mobile version is really a travel companion that enables users to make necessary arrangements throughout their trip."

The Wyoming Office of Tourism spends nearly $7 million in advertising to drive people to their marketing platforms and receives approximately 1.7 million unique visitors to wyomingtourism.org on an annual basis. That number should increase with the new mobile site.

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