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 Associations/Reunions Side:
Dean Miller, our National Sales Manager in the Associations/Reunions markets, has been on the road at tradeshows and seeking new leads for Fairfax County. Here are some recent updates:
- We kicked off 2025 by attending the FLEX (Fairfax Loudoun Event Executives) January breakfast meeting at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner. Dean Miller and Eric Kulczycky both attended, chatting with the more than 50 locally-based meeting planners in attendance.
- To help promote the American Wine Society’s 2025 Annual Conference, which will be held in November at the Westfields Marriott Washington Dulles Hotel, we held a photo shoot at the hotel. Representatives from Visit Fairfax, the AWS, both of our Fairfax County wineries (Paradise Springs Winery in Clifton and The Winery at Bull Run in Centreville), the hotel, and the Virginia Wine Board Marketing Office all participated. Photos from the shoot will be used throughout the year to help promote Fairfax County and our great hotels and attractions in various media outlets.
- We traveled to Atlantic City, NJ for IPEC (the Independent Planner Education Conference), where we met one-on-one with twenty association, corporate, and government planners.
February will see us travel to New York City for the Connect NYC trade show event, followed by the Rendezvous South trade show event in Panama City Beach, FL. We’ll meet face-to-face with more than 25 meeting planners at each event.- In March, we’ll be heading to Philadelphia, PA for a three-day sales blitz with our fellow Virginia DMOs. The signature event of the blitz will be a full day of presentations to the planners in attendance at the annual Education Institute of the Philadelphia chapter of MPI (Meeting Professionals International).
- And we’ll wrap up March by hosting a two-hour virtual family reunion workshop with the National Family Reunion Institute (NFRI). Visit Fairfax will be the sole sponsor of this event.
On the Tour & Travel Side:
Lori Scott, our National and International Sales Manager, continues our efforts in the tour & travel market both domestically and internationally:
Tour Market Updates:
On the Road:
- Looking ahead to the first quarter of 2025, Lori will be attending the American Bus Associations’ Marketplace the first week of February and immediately following, Destination DC’s Annual Global Marketplace.
- In mid-February, Lori will be visiting Ireland and participating with Visit Williamsburg, in conjunction with Capital Region USA, conducting a Road Show in cooperation with Aer Lingus.
News and Opportunities for the Tour Market:
- After the past several conferences, Visit Fairfax has received several requests form International Inbound Tour Operators and Receptive Operators for new hotel product. If your hotel is interested in gaining new international group and FIT visitors for 2025, please contact Lori.
- Calling all restaurants! Did you know that the #2 need for all leisure groups and visitors is food? In fact, as reported by Tourism Economics and Virginia Tourism Corporation, Total Visitor Spending in 2022 came in at $8.5B making up 29% of the overall spend, only being surpassed by transportation. In Fairfax County, there is a great demand for group-friendly options and more locations are desperately needed near roadways and attractions groups are visiting. If your restaurant is interested in working with the group motorcoach industry and building upon sales, let us know and contact Lori Scott for further information and insight on this market.
- New international data has been released for our region! This information is available through the Extranet.
- Year-end wrap-up reports for our accommodation partners are available. To schedule your reporting and review, and to share insights and needs in the year ahead, please contact us.
- Reminder: Please be sure to utilize the Extranet to view any updates to a particular lead. This information can be found under the "Lead Updates" section under the Lead Details. This information will first be presented in the Extranet and is at your immediate disposal.
On the Sports & Corporate/Government Side:
Eric Kulczycky, our National Sales Manager in charge of the sports, government and corporate markets, has been working hard on furthering Visit Fairfax's foray into sports event tourism and also in the government and corporate landscape:
Upcoming Events/Activities:
Fairfax County Athletic Council Meeting (Fairfax, VA; March 19, 2025). 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 take place on the third Wednesday of every month (Pennino Building at 12011 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, VA 22035; 7:30 p.m. on the 2nd floor in room 206). Please contact Eric Kulczycky at ekulczycky@fxva.com for more information. - 2025 USA Hockey National Championships – U16 Girls (Springfield/Ashburn, VA; April 2-6, 2025). Visit Fairfax and Visit Loudoun bid on and won the right to host the Under 16 Girls USA Hockey National Championships, which will be hosted at The St. James and the Ashburn Ice House in early April. The 28-team tournament is expected to attract approximately 1,500 players, coaches, managers, and family members to Northern Virginia over the five days of competition. For information about room block opportunities, please contact Eric Kulczycky.
- 2025 Sports Events & Tourism Association Symposium (April 14-17; Tulsa OK). One of the sports travel industry’s largest tradeshows, the Sports Events and Tourism Association (Sports ETA) Symposium generates lead opportunities through appointments with tournament organizers and decision-makers responsible for selecting destinations for state, regional, national, and international events. At the Symposium, Visit Fairfax will co-sponsor two client events: one through its partnership with the state’s sports tourism arm, Sports Virginia, and another through its SportsNOVA regional sports tourism alliance with Loudoun, Prince William, and Stafford counties.
Past Events/Activities:
- 2025 American Baseball Coaches Association Convention (Gaylord National Harbor; January 2-5, 2025). This past January at Gaylord National Harbor, the ABCA hosted the world's largest baseball convention, which featured a tradeshow, meetings, clinics, and award presentations. Visit Fairfax attended convention events to promote Patriot Park North and other baseball facilities in the county. Visit Fairfax’s marketing activities have strengthened relationships with existing baseball clients and have attracted new ones to Fairfax County. Click here to learn more about PPN and upcoming tournaments.