Hoping to attract more business to the state, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is boosting spending on tourism initiatives designed to lure business groups to the Old Dominion. The Virginia Tourism Corporation is starting a $100,000 marketing campaign called “Virginia’s Declaration of Meeting Excellence” to promote convention and meeting destinations across the state, McDonnell announced Thursday. A new website will allow convention planners to review venues by square footage, room counts and amenities to find a facility that fits their needs — whether it’s a small meeting space or a large convention center.
The meeting industry annually generates $263 billion nationally and courting them to Virginia is in line with McDonnell’s jobs agenda. Even as most state agencies struggled with tighter budgets, McDonnell pushed the General Assembly last year to put aside an extra $7.2 million for tourism.
So far the state has started a nationwide advertising campaign targeting vacationers and created tax credits to entice film production companies to consider Virginia when scouting locations for their flicks. Attracting convention attendees is the next step.
McDonnell’s administration hopes the state’s central location on the East Coast and proximity to numerous airports will help it compete with convention meccas like Orlando, Fla., and Las Vegas.
“It’s an investment in drawing additional dollars to the commonwealth and supporting jobs,” McDonnell spokesman Jeff Caldwell said. “Not only do they spend directly on travel but ancillary things like restaurants and shopping. That’s all along been one of his major priorities.”
The new website will also help the state track how much convention and meeting business is coming into the commonwealth, since that data is not readily available 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.
The VTC plans to advertise the new website in national trade magazines and online. The funds will not support monetary incentives local convention and visitor bureaus dole out to attract the business.
