Nevada woos travelers with the tagline “a state apart,” but if you call the state’s official 800 tourism information number, the operator who picks it up is actually four states apart — at an Iowa call center.
As part of the state’s Travel Nevada marketing campaign, potential visitors are invited to learn more about the Silver State through its Travel Nevada.comwebsite, its @TravelNevadaTwitter account, or through the 1-800-Nevada8 toll-free phone number.
Callers to the 800 number are connected to a call center in Boone, Iowa, which handles telephone inquiries for the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs. The operators refer callers to other sources of information and take names and addresses to mail out travel brochures.
Bethany Drysdale from the Nevada Department of Tourism joined KNPR to help dial in on this arrangement. She said it's a matter of Nevada laws on the state's purchasing procedures.
"We have to go out for a formal RFP and then any vendor who wants to respond can send in their proposal," Drysdale said. "Then there's a rather complex scoring system, all dictated by Nevada law, and the proposal with the highest score wins the contract.
"There really is no choosing of vendors here, it really is just through a scoring process."
That scoring process includes categories such as price, reputation and the ability to fulfill the contract and produce expertise in the required area.
According to Drysdale, only one Nevada company responded to the request for proposals to administer the call center work.
But does anyone actually call the number? On average, CDS Global responds to about seven calls per day, Drysdale said, equaling a contract amount of about $4,000 last fiscal year. Most visitors to Nevada plan their trips through the state's online resources.
So what to think when an Iowan answers the phone and makes the ultimate pronunciation error on the word "Nevada?"
Drysdale said they are continually training the operators at CDS Global, and the correct pronunciation of the state is of the utmost importance.
"Whether it's someone we're talking to on the phone, someone who is representing us through a vendor relationship or even on our logo, you'll see the symbol avove the 'A' on how to pronounce Nevada," Drysdale said.
Bethany Drysdale, Nevada Department of Tourism.