Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Portland, Oregon Visitors Association is changing its name.  Starting Thursday, the non-profit group will become simply  "Travel Portland."  The change includes a new logo and a redesigned website.

Jeff Miller is the president of Travel Portland.  He said the group's website has been "TravelPortland.com" for a couple years  and the change just made sense.

The state's tourism agency, the Oregon Tourism Commission has a similar moniker, "Travel Oregon."

Miller said the change will benefit both groups.

Jeff Miller: "It really enhances our relationship with the state and with all of the regional visitors' bureaus around because we have access and provide web access back and forth and we work very closely with our regional partners, so if anything it's strengthening the relationship."

Miller says the travel industry in Portland is strong.  He said last year the metropolitan area netted $3.6 billion in visitor spending.  That's  almost a five percent increase over the previous year.