Turning up the heat on local tourism

An economic recession hasn’t soured hopes that visitors will bring their dollars to Central Virginia this year, tourism officials said.
Officials with the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau have mailed out brochures and are beefing up their Web site in hopes of highlighting tourist attractions in the area. They are also coming up with a new marketing plan, working with area businesses to promote getaways and sending out weekly schedules of events to get more visitors spending their dollars here.

“We want to show people that one trip to Charlottesville is not enough,” said Kurt Burkhart, executive director of the CACVB. “We have such an ideal location and we want to show people all we have to offer.”
Earlier this month, the bureau mailed 4,000 brochures to people who have requested information about the area. The hope is to get more tourists to Charlottesville, Burkhart said.

“We believe the close proximity to Washington, D.C., and major metropolitan areas within Virginia makes Charlottesville an extremely affordable, easy drive market destination for anyone who desires a long weekend or extended stay to rejuvenate,” Burkhart said.
The local tourism industry, which includes hotels, restaurants and attractions in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, has seen an increase in dollars spent over the last five years, according to figures from the Virginia Tourism Corp.

But the figures for 2008, which are due out by early summer, could show a decline across the state, said Tamra Talmadge-Anderson, spokeswoman for the VTC.
“Last fall, we were hearing the [tourist] numbers were down,” Talmadge-Anderson said. “We are very aware of the state of the economy and we’re working to make deals available. People are still going to spend money in this economy, but they are going to look for the best deals.”
Burkhart, who joined the CACVB in January, has prioritized getting the CACVB’s Web site updated and user-friendly to capitalize on the desire to travel despite the economy. Although the current site gives plenty of information on various attractions, it doesn’t allow for one-stop shopping.
“More and more people are making their travel plans online and they’re not waiting for their travel guide to arrive,” Burkhart said. “We want to make our site as user-friendly as possible.”

The new Web site, scheduled to be online in September, will allow visitors to plan their trips and buy tickets to attractions online. It will also allow them to build daily itineraries for their stay.
The bureau is also working with hotels, restaurants and attractions to build cost-saving trip packages, and there has been a lot of interest among partners, Burkhart said.
“We’ll be out talking aggressively with our partners to come up with packages that add value for the traveler,” Burkhart said. “We want something that continues to invite people to come here.”
The CACVB has also asked local businesses to compete in the “Face of Travel” contest by submitting videos on why travel is important to them and why tourists should come to the area. The winner of the national contest, which is sponsored by the United States Travel Association as a way to promote tourism, will receive $5,000.

The bureau is also sending out weekly event schedules to local hotels so they can share them with visitors, Burkhart said. If a tourist is looking for something to do, he or she can simply talk to the front desk person at their hotel to see what entertainment and other events are happening.
Efforts are also being made to beef up marketing of the area to national and regional media outlets, Burkhart said. CACVB officials will soon attend a national travel writers conference in the hopes of luring people here to write about the area.
“We would like to have our iconic attractions front and center,” Burkhart said. “We want to convey that Charlottesville is more than what you thought it was before.”
Local attractions have seen an increase in visitors in recent months, but are still hoping to see more people come in the doors.
Officials at Monticello are hoping to see an increase in visitation numbers for April with the opening of the new visitor’s center, said Wayne Mogielnicki, director of communications at Thomas Jefferson’s historic home.

The visitation numbers were up from October to February, but there was a slight decrease in March, Mogielnicki said. He said there are no plans to run special promotions to get people to visit.
“The visitor’s center gives people who have been here a new reason to come and we’re excited about that,” Mogielnicki said.
Officials at Montpelier have seen a 35 percent increase in visitors this year and credit that to renovations and new programs, said Peggy Seiter Vaughn, director of communications.
“We’ve got a lot of new things happening and we’re adding new programs all the time,” Vaughn said. Some of the new programs include hands-on archaeology projects, children’s digs and garden tours.

Montpelier is also working with local businesses to come up with weekend packages that will give visitors other options, she said.
Local efforts to promote tourism are part of a statewide plan to bring tourists to Virginia and keep residents in the state to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Virginia is for Lovers campaign. The VTC is giving away 40 trips around the state through 2009 and promoting 40 free things tourists can do while they visit the state as part of the celebration.
“The contest has kept our Web site traffic strong,” Talmadge-Anderson said. “People are still going to spend money in the economy, but they’re going to be spending it wisely.”