Visit Fairfax Ambassador Program

Fairfax County Ambassadors know where to go and how to deliver extraordinary service!

Ambassador Program Purpose – Ambassadors, Fairfax County hospitality employees, enhance the guest experience with their knowledge of Fairfax County and the Capital Region USA attractions and sites. Their increased knowledge enables them to cross-promote assets and create a "sense of destination" for tourists to visit.

The Ambassador Program supports the Visit Fairfax Mission, which is to create and effectively market exciting products, programs and activities that will distinguish Fairfax County as a premier tourism destination.

The Ambassador Program is intended to help Ambassadors create pride in their Fairfax County community, foster community support, provide exceptional service to others that exceeds expectations, and leverage the Fairfax County community resources and tourism assets.

A 3 ½ hour interactive training session provides newly identified Ambassadors an opportunity to practice what they are learning, use existing Visit Fairfax resources and get to know other members of the Fairfax County tourism community. During this exciting session, Ambassadors will be rewarded with gifts for their existing knowledge, watch history come alive with special guest appearances and receive an FXVA "passport" to visit county attractions.

Audience – Fairfax County hotel, attraction and restaurant frontline employees and managers who have contact with customers.

Overall Training Objectives – upon completion of the Visit Fairfax Ambassadors' training, participants will be able to:

Discuss key details about some of the Fairfax County and regional assets with their customers, colleagues and friends
Refer people to resources containing more information about the assets (Visit Fairfax brochure and website)

Training Program Overview

Module 1 – Welcome and Introductions

Program leader, guests and participants
Objectives and the importance of the Ambassador role
Networking to get to know each other, learn from each other and eventually refer business to each other (Fairfax County tourism community)

Module 2 – Fairfax County Tourism Overview

Learn the Visit Fairfax Mission
Recognize tourism facts and figures and the services of the Fairfax County Capital Region Visitor Centers
Recognize resources that support the Ambassador program
Discuss how Fairfax County is a destination

Module 3 – How to Best Meet Your Customers' Needs

Identify customer tourism needs and interests
Discuss the assets of Fairfax County and the Capital Region USA (CRUSA) while using FXVA resources

Module 4 – Create a WOW Experience for Your Customers

Create a WOW experience for your customer
Find a way to surprise the customer with a higher level of service
Learn from and recognize fellow employees
Work together to build a Fairfax County tourism community

Module 5 – Summary

Participation in an FXVA bucks auction to receive gifts donated by attractions
Write an action plan to insure that training is implemented in the workplace
Summarize key points presented

Ambassador Recognition

Unique Ambassador Pin
Passport – Ambassadors will be given free admission to various county attractions. Any Ambassador who visits at least three in a 3-month time period, has the passport stamped and turns it in to the FXVA Visitor Center, will be entered into a drawing to win an IPod.