Virginia tourism officials plan to market the state as a convention-friendly destination in an effort to tap the country’s $263 billion meeting industry.
The Virginia Tourism Corporation is launching a $100,000 marketing campaign called “Virginia’s Declaration of Meeting Excellence” to promote destinations across the state, from the smallest meeting spaces to large convention centers. That coincides with a new website that allows convention planners to review venues by square footage, room counts and amenities.
The site will also help the state track how much convention and meeting business is coming into the commonwealth, since that data is not now reported at the state level, VTC spokeswoman Tamra Talmadge-Anderson said. As a whole, tourism is an $18 billion industry in Virginia.
It’s the first “branded, unified effort” to promote the convention industry in Virginia, Talmadge-Anderson said.
Funds for the marketing campaign will come out of the $7.2 million increase in the tourism budget Gov. Bob McDonnell pushed for after first taking office last year. The VTC plans to advertise the new web site in national trade magazines and online.
“This new focus on bringing more meetings and conventions to Virginia holds great economic potential for communities across the commonwealth,” McDonnell said. “Virginia’s ‘Declaration of Meeting Excellence’ is a signal to meeting planners that Virginia wants your business and we strive to be the best. It should also encourage Virginia-based business to consider Virginia first when planning a meeting.”
