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 mid-June, we traveled to downtown Washington, DC, for the Smart Meetings trade show event, where we met one-on-one with 15 corporate and association meeting planners.
  • We wrapped up June in New Orleans, LA, at The Military Reunion Network’s annual Educational Summit.  We met with the planners for 22 military reunion groups, and came home with leads in hand from six of them!
  • July took us to Greenville, SC, where we met with 17 planners at the Small & Boutique Meetings trade show event.
  • Group of people standing on oversized board game mat in a hotelFairfax County was once again delighted to host the Reston – Herndon Meeting Planners (RHMP) for their annual “Summer Camp” event, which was held at the Hyatt Regency Dulles.  We played our life-sized board game “Fairfaxopoly” with the planners, demonstrating how we can bring the game to the opening reception for one of their meetings here in Fairfax County. 
  • August will see Dean Miller and Eric Kulczycky travel to Detroit, MI, for the Connect Marketplace trade show.  Dean will meet with 25+ association planners over the course of three days, while Eric will meet with an equal number of sports tournament organizers.
  • August will also see us playing host to the Overseas Brats for their annual Gathering, which will be held at the Crowne Plaza Dulles Airport.  Dean Miller will spend three days with the brats in attendance, encouraging them to bring their respective reunion groups here to Fairfax County for one of their upcoming events.
  • We’ll host a three-day “Fam Weekend” in September for the planners from twenty military reunion groups from all four branches of the Armed Forces.  We’ll host this event in conjunction with The Military Reunion Network (TMRN), and will showcase seven of our reunion-friendly hotels, some of our great restaurants, and one-of-a-kind attractions.
  • October will see us in Richmond, VA, for the Virginia Society of Association Executives (VSAE) Fall Conference & Expo. We’ll have a booth in the exhibit hall for the sixteenth consecutive year.  We still have just a couple of spots remaining in our booth, so if your hotel is interested in getting in front of a well-qualified audience of state association meeting planners, please give Dean Miller a call.
  • And we’ll wrap up October in Albany, NY, at the Destination East trade show event, where we’ll meet one-on-one with twenty association and corporate planners from around the Northeastern United States.

 

On the Tour & Travel Side: 

Lori Scott has joined the Visit Fairfax team as the new National and International Sales Manager, continuing our efforts in the tour & travel market:

  • In partnership with CRUSA and its in-country representatives, with Visit Charlottesville, Visit Fairfax attended the Sales Mission in France visiting 21 Tour Operators, including in-market United Airlines representatives in the cities of Lyon and Paris. We held presentations with an overview of the full CRUSA region with an emphasis and opportunity to present, familiarize and introduce Fairfax County and several of its unique attractions and services, including its proximity to the nation's capital was conducted.
  • Visit Fairfax continues to serve on the 2022 SYTA Conference Committee in addition to the conference volunteer sub-committee. The annual conference will see us taking multiple appointments over several days with student youth travel planners. Visit Fairfax will be hosting a pre-familiarization tour in conjunction with Northern Virginia Tourism Partnership prior to this conference, as well as an interactive 30-minute itinerary building engagement, highlighting and educating those in attendance on the restaurants, attractions, and hotels throughout the region which cater to and work with the student group market.
  • Visit Fairfax will be attending the first CRUSA “Global Travel Exchange” held this year in Washington, DC. This appointment-based tradeshow will consist of the top buyers from Germany, France and the UK. The show also affords the opportunity for networking and education.
  • In partnership with VTC, CRUSA will be hosting international tour operators on a 3-day pre-FAM of Northern Virginia and Charlottesville prior to CRUSA's Global Travel Exchange held in Washington, DC. During this FAM, Visit Fairfax will have the opportunity to welcome and showcase attractions and a hotel to buyers from Europe.
  • NVTP will be traveling to New York to meet with and market to Tour Operators and Receptive Operators updating them on the region and upcoming news and happenings while gathering updates from those buyers on what they are seeing in their markets. Plans for this sales mission are in the beginning stages of development.
  • Visit Fairfax will be hosting the first “Accent On The East” tradeshow operated by Mid-Atlantic Receptive Services. Mid-Atlantic Receptive Operators will be inviting tour operators from the northeast, mid-atlantic and southern regions for a two day tradeshow to hold appointments with state and county DMO’s and interested service providers (attractions, hotels, restaurants), and attend workshops and suggestive itinerary sessions created by Mid-Atlantic Receptive Services. Visit Fairfax will be hosting the second night’s all attendees evening dinner function and event.
  • In partnership with Accent On The East, Visit Fairfax is securing advertising in Leisure Group Travel magazine. This will include the front cover, back cover and a two-page, suggested itinerary emphasizing and primarily focusing on Fairfax County, with mention of Washington, DC.
  • Immediately after the tradeshow, and in partnership with Washington, DC (Destination DC), Visit Fairfax will be hosting Tour Operators for a 2 day/2 night post-FAM highlighting and marketing adult group tour attractions and venues. Visit Fairfax has a tentative schedule to include the Fairview Park Marriott, Workhouse Arts Center, Lucy Burns Museum, National Museum of the United States Army, Woodlawn and Pope-Leighey House, and Wolf Trap.

 

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:

  • September 19-21, 2022: S.P.O.R.T.S. Relationship Conference (Savannah, GA).  S.P.O.R.T.S. is an exclusive, space-limited show offering pre-qualified, one-on-one appointments that are twice as long as those at similar industry events.  Approximately 75 event planners will be on site for eight hours of appointment sessions over the course of the show. 
  • September 21, 2022: Fairfax County Athletic Council Meeting. The FCAC serves in an advisory capacity to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, School Board, and county agencies on matters relating to the use of public sports facilities and the programming of youth/adult sports programs in the county.  Meetings currently take place on the third Wednesday of every month via Microsoft Teams from 6-9 p.m. Please contact Eric Kulczycky at ekulczycky@fxva.com for more information. 
  • October 24-27, 2022: TEAMS Conference & Expo (Oklahoma City, OK).  Visit Fairfax will have the opportunity to network with prospective and current clients and have access to lead information generated through 70+ appointments at one of the sports travel industry’s largest tradeshows.


Past Events/Activities:

  • CONNECT Sports Marketplace (Detroit, MI).  CONNECT Sports is an annual education conference and appointment-only trade show bringing together active planners and rights-holders, suppliers, and experts in sports events for three days of general sessions, workshops, and pre-set appointments.  Visit Fairfax met with 40 tournament planners and, in conjunction with Sports Virginia and other DMOs in the Commonwealth pursing the sports market, co-hosted 20 tournament planners at a special client function during the show.
  • ARPA Sports Marketing Incentive Program – With assistance from Visit Fairfax, the Fairfax County Park Authority applied for and received $132,750 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) sports incentive grants to book tournaments at Patriot Park North.  This six-diamond complex (turf, lighted) is expected to open in Spring 2023.  Located next to Willow Spring Elementary School in Fairfax, Patriot Park North will feature four 90-foot diamonds, two 70-foot diamonds, portable mounds, scoreboards and a press box, concession stands, and a playground.  In addition, Visit Fairfax received ARPA sports incentive grants totaling $16,750 for other sports events and meetings.