New eye-catching memorials, multimillion-dollar expansions and high-profile events are expected to help draw millions of visitors and billions of dollars to Northern Virginia over the next year, industry officials said Tuesday at the region’s annual tourism summit.
Tourism leaders from Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties and Alexandria met at Mount Vernon for the third annual Northern Virginia Visitors Consortium tourism summit — an opportunity for officials to discuss regional efforts to attract tourists.
“Our goal is to get people to stay longer and spend more money,” said Rick Siger, Virginia’s deputy secretary of commerce and trade. Northern Virginia is “clearly a powerhouse in terms of revenues for the state,” he said.
In fact, the region accounted for nearly 40 percent, or $5.8 billion, of the revenue generated by tourism in the entire state of Virginia in 2004, according to statistics compiled by the Travel Industry Association of America. Visitor spending grew by more than 8 percent between 2003 and 2004, and the industry accounts for nearly 77,000 jobs in Northern Virginia.
Because several new attractions are opening in Northern Virginia this year, those numbers are expected to grow.
Mount Vernon in Alexandria will open its orientation center and education center on Oct. 27. The $95 million expansion includes 23 galleries and theater space with interactive exhibits and never-before-displayed artifacts.
The Air Force Memorial will open on Oct. 14 in Arlington and the National Museum of the Marine Corps and Heritage Center will open in Prince William County in November. In addition, Alexandria will hold events for the statewide Jamestown 2007 celebration May 27 through June 3.
“Tourists don’t know or care what jurisdiction they’re in,” said Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., who spoke at the summit. “There’s no ceiling on what is going to be accomplished in generating revenue for the region and the state.”
Tourist spending by county in Northern Virginia, 2004
» Alexandria: $517,065,297
» Arlington: $1,959,810,556
» Fairfax: $1,991,816,170
» Loudoun: $1,060,226,119
» Prince William: $331,208,748
» Total: $5,860,126,890
