Carson City lands big name to host video

Erik Hastings, a well-known travel journalist, hosts the new video on the Web site of the Carson City Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Even better, tourism officials say, they managed to land Hastings for a bargain price.

Hastings hosts a weekly travel show on WABC Radio in New York City his listening audience is estimated at 250,000 every Sunday and he's parlayed the success of that program into a busy Web site filled with videos about popular destinations.

Carson City landed Hastings last year, shortly after he signed a contract as keynote speaker at the Nevada Governor's Conference on Tourism. (The conference was cancelled before he spoke, a casualty of the

state's budget crisis.)

Looking for opportunities to generate even more revenue from his journey west, Hastings contacted the

Carson City Convention & Visitors Bureau, offering a discounted price on production of a video.

Candace Duncan, executive director of the bureau, says the organization grabbed the opportunity to get a high-quality video presentation for its Web site.

About 73 percent of Internet users nationwide turn to the Web for travel information, and Duncan says consumers increasingly hope to find information in a video format.

The production undertaken by Hastings and his crew runs about eight minutes, detailing historic sites, fine dining and attractions in the Carson City area.

It's available at the bureau's Web site, www.visitcarsoncity.com as well as erikhastings.com.

Duncan notes the video also has gone viral on the Web, popping up on sites such as YouTube and

elsewhere.