Visitors to Minot now have 24-hour access to vital information on accommodations, dining, events and local attractions, thanks to the new outdoor information kiosk located near the entrance of the Visitors Center, which overlooks Scandinavian Heritage Park.

The interactive kiosk, which can print driving directions straight from Google Maps, is the first of its kind in North Dakota and the only one currently operating in the Upper Midwest, said Wendy Howe, executive director of the Minot Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"One of our members came to us with the concept last year and we really felt like it was something new and really different," she said, "and it resolved an issue we had been trying to solve for a long time which is to help visitors after (Visitors Center) hours."

Through research, Howe said she is aware of only two similar kiosks in the country one in Florida and the other in Arizona.

"It's nice to be on the cutting edge of (tourism) technology to help our visitors and we think they will appreciate the fact that they will be able to get info at any time of the day," she added.

Unveiled the week of the State Fair, CVB staff members said the reaction has been positive.

"We've had an amazing response so far with organizations like the (North Dakota) National Guard, the Missouri Visitors Bureau and officials in Bismarck asking us questions about the kiosk," said Sarah Strasburg, communications coordinator for the CVB. "And whenever I drive past, I always see someone standing in front of it, which is great."

The cost of the kiosk $25,000 was paid for entirely by the CVB.

"That's a lot of money, but the way we looked at it was that it wasn't a one-time investment," Howe said. "It is a long-term investment that will be beneficial to visitors and the city for a long time."

The kiosk is kept up-to-date on a near daily basis by Strasburg a noteworthy fact for the large number of visitors expected to visit Minot this year.

"We are showing very strong (visitor) numbers not only in the number of hotel occupancies and the number of visitors at the visitors center, but in that we have seen a rebound in our Canadian visitors," due to the declining exchange rate throughout the fall and winter of 2008, Howe said. "People are still traveling, they are just traveling closer to home. Minot has some great events like the State Fair, the Y's Men's Rodeo and Hostfest that draws people here, particularly Canadians, so I believe we will see strong Canadian visitor (figures) throughout the rest of the year."