The sales team at Visit Fairfax is hard at work promoting and selling Fairfax County as a prime meeting destination. From virtual tradeshows and virtual FAM tours to in-person conferences, events, and meetings, our sales managers are planning many exciting strategies to represent the great assets and businesses of Fairfax County.

Here is a snapshot of some upcoming events, activities, and appointments our sales team is working on. The team is always happy to share updates and notes from these events, so feel free to reach out at any time.
 


On the Meetings Side:

Dean Miller, our National Sales Manager in the Associations/Reunions markets, has been back out at tradeshows and seeking new leads for Fairfax County. Here are some recent updates:

  • In March, Visit Fairfax attended the Connect NYC trade show in New York City, where we met one-on-one with 38 corporate, association, and third-party meeting planners over the course of three days.

  • HelmsBriscoe Meeting - Hyatt Tysons - Dean Miller - Sales - Industry NewsletterVisit Fairfax hosted an “Information Exchange” event with HelmsBriscoe, a leading third-party meeting sourcing firm.  Representatives from 15 of our Fairfax County meeting hotels joined us in March, along with six locally-based HelmsBriscoe representatives, for an afternoon of networking and information sharing at the Hyatt Regency Tysons Corner Center.

  • Visit Fairfax attended the Virginia Society of Association Executives (VSAE) monthly breakfast meeting in early April, where we met with more than a dozen state association planners.

  • Also in April, Visit Fairfax will be the exclusive sponsor of the Virtual Family Reunion Planners Workshop, being held online by the National Family Reunion Institute (www.familyreunioninstitute.net) on Saturday, April 30.  We’ll highlight the many reasons that Fairfax County is an ideal spot for family reunions.

  • In May, we’ll attend the VSAE Annual Conference, being held in nearby Loudoun County, bringing us face-to-face with more than 50 state association planners for three days.

  • Later in May, we’ll travel to Branson, MO for the Rendezvous South trade show, hosted by Convention South magazine, and meet one-on-one with 25+ association, corporate, and third-party planners.

  • And we’ll wrap up May with a two-day sales mission to Richmond, VA, meeting with over a dozen state association planners in their offices, discussing the plans for their meetings going forward.

  • And in June, we be in New Orleans, LA for the annual Educational Summit of The Military Reunion Network (TMRN), where we’ll meet with the planners for more that fifty military reunion groups.

 

On the Tour & Travel Side: 

We are sad to report that Linda Horowitz, our National Sales Manager for Domestic/International Sales, has recently accepted a new position in the tourism industry. We wish her much success in all of her future endeavors. While we seek to fill her position (know someone interested? Have them reach out to Jackie Franchi at jfranchi@fxva.com), the Visit Fairfax team continues its efforts in the tour & travel market:

  • Visit Fairfax partnered with its colleagues in Northern Virginia to host a pre-event FAM prior to Southeast Tourism Society’s Domestic Showcase, an annual regional marketplace that was held in Virginia Beach in mid-February. Participants enjoyed a visit to various sites around Northern Virginia, including the National Museum of the United States Army and the Workhouse Arts Center.

  • Visit Fairfax joined group sales representatives from Washington, DC, Virginia Beach, Baltimore, and Capital Region USA to market, sell, and promote group tour leisure activities during a whirlwind week in London and Dublin. Face to face meetings took place with over 50 tour operators and travel agents during the mission – which was the first CRUSA coordinated sales mission in two years due to the pandemic. 

  • Visit Fairfax will participate in the Capital Region USA Sales Mission to France this June to further promote the destination to one of its target European markets.

  • Visit Fairfax will also return to IPW in Orlando, Florida in early June 2022. This leading international inbound travel trade show is one of the largest in the US, with buyers from 70+ countries present. We will have pre-scheduled appointments with our top international clients, as well as introduce Fairfax County to many new international tour operators. Visit Fairfax will also have a media presence at this show.

 

On the Sports Side:

Eric Kulczycky, our National Sales Manager in charge of the sports market, has been working hard on furthering Visit Fairfax's foray into sports event tourism:

  • Upcoming Conferences and Meetings:

    • 2020 Sports ETA Symposium (May 2-5, Fort Worth, TX).  One of the sports travel industry’s largest tradeshows, the Sports Events and Tourism Association (Sports ETA) Symposium generates lead opportunities through appointments with sports event planners and decision-makers responsible for selecting destinations for state, regional, national, and international events.
       
  • Sports Marketing and Meeting & Convention Incentive Program Grants

    • The Virginia Tourism Corporation is offering funding to be used for event incentives and marketing promotions targeted specifically at attracting new sports tournaments/competitions and new meetings/conventions to spur economic activity and travel across the Commonwealth. $1 million will be committed to a Sports Marketing incentive program and $1 million will be committed to a Meeting & Convention incentive program.  Eligible applicants are Destination Marketing Organizations (DMO/CVBs), meeting or sports venues, city or county local government agencies (i.e. parks & recreation department), and sports commissions. For more information on both of these programs, visit https://www.vatc.org/marketing/groupsmeetingssports/.


On the Corporate/Government Side:

Eric Kulczycky also handles the corporate and government markets and has been working hard on furthering Visit Fairfax's efforts with business travel:

Upcoming Conferences and Meetings:

  • MPI ReConEx 2022 (April 26, College Park, MD). Meeting Professional International’s (MPI) Potomac Regional Conference and Expo, MPI ReConEx 2022, is an educational conference and business forum for the meetings and events industry.  Presented by the Potomac Chapter of MPI, ReConEx 2022 provides meeting professionals from the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond an opportunity to network with industry leaders and build strategic business relationships.
  • 2022 SGMP NEC (June 14-16, Pittsburgh, PA).  The Society of Government Meeting Professionals (SGMP) National Education Conference (NEC) is the largest annual event in the government meetings industry and is where government professionals from across the country come together for non-stop education, resources, and connections.  Visit sgmp.org/conference for more information.