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:
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In September, we journeyed to the Meetings Today Live! trade show event in Louisville, KY, where we met with 22 association and corporate planners, and provided them with information on all of our newest Fairfax County attractions.
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Visit Fairfax and representatives from nine of our great Fairfax County meeting hotels returned to Richmond, VA on Thursday, October 7th, to exhibit at the Virginia Society of Association Executives (VSAE) Fall Conference & Expo. Our theme this year was "The Treasures of Fairfax County", and our salty crew of buccaneers provided meeting planners with a special treasure map that could use to uncover the county's treasures and -- potentially -- win valuable prizes!
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November will see us at the Connect DC trade show in Washington, DC, where we'll meet one-on-one with more than 60 planners. Dean Miller will meet with association planners, and Eric Kulczycky will meet with corporate planners, with a special focus on planners booking for the high-technology and healthcare industries.
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:
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Visit Fairfax for the first time participated in RTO Summit South in Tampa, Florida from August 29-31. This Florida-based show tradeshow capitalizes on a high number of receptive operators based in the state. Florida now is home to over 120 receptive companies most of which service Latin American markets, Europe, and increasingly, Asia and the Middle East. We participated in 30 prescheduled appointments with these receptive operators to develop new international business.
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Visit Fairfax attended IPW in Las Vegas, Nevada from September 18-22. This leading international inbound travel trade show is one of the largest in the US, with buyers from 30+ countries present. We had one-on-one appointments with top existing international and receptive clients and introduced Fairfax County to many new international tour operators.
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In collaboration with the Northern Virginia Tourism Partnership (NVTP), Visit Fairfax hosted a virtual sales mission on October 3-7. Over the course of 3 days, Northern Virginia destination representatives from Arlington County, Alexandria City, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, and Prince William County met virtually with tour operators in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, and Massachusetts to introduce new tour product and update them about our destinations.
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Visit Fairfax will virtually participate 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 will have pre-set appointments with international and US-based tour operators, as well as attended educational sessions.
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:
- Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, and Stafford counties have announced the launch of SportsNOVA, a new regional sports tourism partnership that will market Northern Virginia as a premier destination for travel sports events. With the goal of generating economic impact and fostering community development in the region, SportsNOVA will work collaboratively to attract multi-sport and large single-sport events that can only be accommodated through a collective effort. Read the press release here.
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Upcoming Conferences and Meetings:
- Oct. 25-28, 2021: Sports Events & Tourism Association Symposium in Birmingham, AL. One of the sports travel industry’s largest tradeshows, the 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.
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Past Events/Activities:
- 2021 TEAMS Conference & Expo (Atlantic City, NJ). In partnership with other CVBs and sports commissions as part of the Sports Virginia coalition, Visit Fairfax co-hosted a client event and generated leads through appointments with more than 60+ state, regional, national, and international events rights-holders at one of the sports travel industry’s largest tradeshows.
- 2021 CONNECT Sports Marketplace (Tampa, FL). 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 43 tournament planners and participated in a client event with Sports Virginia, the state coalition of CVBs pursuing the sports market.
- The Fairfax County Sports Tourism Task Force met in Sept. 2021 to review new tournament policies for the use of rectangular fields and to discuss new facility developments, including Fairfax Peak (the 450,000-square-foot snow sports venue with a 1,700-foot ski slope expected to be built on the I-95 landfill in Lorton) and Patriot Park North (the turf baseball/softball complex currently under construction in Fairfax with six diamond fields, a press box, and a concessions area). Visit Fairfax also provided an overview of SportsNOVA, the new regional sports tourism alliance between Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, and Stafford counties that markets Northern Virginia as a preferred destination for travel sports events.