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 October, Visit Fairfax "virtually" attended the Destination East trade show in Boston, MA and met with more than twenty association and corporate meeting planners.

  • Visit Fairfax hosted a luncheon and tour for 23 locally-based meeting planners at Capital One Hall at Tysons, highlighting the features of the new facility and the advantages of holding meetings and events in Fairfax County.

  • Visit Fairfax attended the Connect DC trade show event in downtown Washington, DC in December. Dean Miller met one-on-one with thirty association planners over three days, while Eric Kulczycky conferred with more than forty corporate planners.

  • Visit Fairfax attended the Virginia Society of Association Executives (VSAE) Holiday Luncheon in Richmond, VA, meeting with more than 25 state association planners in December.

  • Dean Miller authored an article for Reunions Magazine on sites for memorial services here in the National Capital area that military reunion groups can utilize for their services. Check out the December issue to read it.

 

On the Tour & Travel Side: 

Linda Horowitz, our National Sales Manager for International and Domestic Group Tour, has been working on some innovative virtual offerings and has been back out on the road. Here's the scoop on Linda's markets:

  • Visit Fairfax virtually participated in National Tour Association (NTA) Travel Exchange on November 14-17. This annual tradeshow is hosted by NTA, North America’s leading business association for the travel industry. Over three days, Visit Fairfax had pre-set appointments with 19 international and US-based tour operators, as well as attended educational sessions.

  • Visit Fairfax will attend American Bus Association's (ABA) Annual Marketplace from January 8-11, 2022 in Grapevine, TX. The marketplace is the premier conference for motorcoach group travel and tourism in the US and Canada. For the first time, Visit Fairfax —in conjunction with Northern Virginia Tourism Partnership— will have a booth on the showroom floor for increased exposure and networking with buyers. In addition to pre-scheduled appointments with new companies as well as current clients, the show also offers educational workshops over three days.

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

  • Visit Fairfax is participating in a Northern Virginia FAM on 10 Feb 2022. This pre-event FAM will take place prior to Southeast Tourism Society’s Domestic Showcase, an annual regional marketplace that will be held in Virginia Beach from February 13-15, 2022. Two partners will be highlighted during the FAM; The National Museum of the United States Army, and the Workhouse Arts Center where FAM participants will enjoy a murder mystery dinner.

 

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:

  • Past Events/Activities:

    • 2021 EsportsTravel Summit (Pittsburgh, PA).  Attended the world’s largest gathering of esports tournament and video-game event organizers and the only event-focused on the travel side of the esports industry.
    • 2021 Sports Events & Tourism Association Symposium (Birmingham, AL).  Attended one of the sports travel industry’s largest tradeshows, the Sports ETA Symposium, to generate lead opportunities through appointments with sports event planners and decision-makers responsible for selecting destinations for state, regional, national, and international events. 
    • Fairfax County Sports Tourism Task Force Meeting (Fairfax, VA). The Sports Tourism Task Force was established to evaluate and improve sports tourism infrastructure and opportunities in the county.  Membership consists of representatives from county and state government, public schools (county, NOVA, GMU), local and regional parks, the athletic council, the hospitality community, and Visit Fairfax.  Agenda items included: Alpine-X, Use of School Fields on Holiday Weekends, and Proposed Public Athletic Facilities.
    • Conducted site inspections of: 1) Braddock Park (Clifton), with the program manager of Fairfax Adult Softball to review facility improvements required to host select softball tournaments and 2) The Fieldhouse and Dulles-Area Hotels, with representatives of Pershing Rifles, a military-oriented, national honor society whose purpose is to “to develop, to the highest degree possible, outstanding traits of leadership, military science, military bearing, and discipline within the framework of a military-oriented, honorary fraternity.”
    • Conducted Zoom calls with Fairfax County Advocates for Pickleball, which is seeking to improve and build new pickleball facilities in the county, as well as the Fairfax County Athletic Council, which 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. 
    • Met with the Fairfax County Park Authority to discuss the marketing of Patriot Park North, the six-field, turf baseball/softball complex that’s currently under construction at a site adjacent to Willow Springs Elementary School in Fairfax, VA.