Northern Virginia tourism agencies are uniting to implement their first collective Canadian marketing campaign.
With the help of a grant from Virginia Tourism Corporation, the Northern Virginia Visitors Consortium recently launched the Northern Virginia Canadian Marketing Campaign, which promotes the region as a vibrant, multi-faceted destination to the Canadian market.
The NVVC is comprised of Discover Prince William & Manassas, Alexandria Convention & Visitors Association, Arlington Convention & Visitors Service, Visit Fairfax and Visit Loudoun. Formed more than 10 years ago, the group meets to discuss collaborative marketing opportunities and ways to promote tourism to Northern Virginia.
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“Virginia receives more international travelers from Canada than any other country and this funding will assist Northern Virginia in creating a stronger brand identity to better attract visitors from Canada,” NVVC President Ann Marie Maher said. “Tourists don’t know jurisdiction boundaries, so by working collaboratively we can pull resources and offer a stronger product to visitors.”
“VTC has been invested in the Canadian market for more than 16 years and remains committed to increasing Canadian visitation and spending in the Commonwealth. I am excited about this partnership with Northern Virginia, which can only increase the strong momentum we are experiencing from Canada,” VTC President and CEO Rita McClenny said.
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In 2012, Canadian overnight visitation to Virginia was more than 651,500, an increase of 3 percent from 2011. Spending by Canadian visitors was over $154 million in 2012, up 4 percent.
The three-year Northern Virginia Canadian Marketing Campaign will build on the successes VTC has already had with the Canadian market. The campaign will be led by BCF- an agency focused on marketing the travel agency- and will include photos, videos and multi-media ads that promote Northern Virginia’s history, wine country, shops and outdoor recreation opportunities.
Each NVVC member contributed $10,000 to the campaign in order to leverage a $25,000 grant and VTC’s investment in the Canadian market. In August, VTC awarded more than $98,000 in grants for 54 tourism marketing projects across the state.
