The Visit Fairfax team has been hard at work selling and promoting Fairfax County to potential clients, groups, and media.  The team is always happy to share updates from tradeshows, appointments, and events.  Read on for an updated list of recent activities and what's been happening over the next few months. You may find that this information can benefit your business. 


Association and Reunion Market:

  • We attended the Smart Meetings “Smart Mart” tradeshow event in Leesburg, VA, in search of more corporate and association business.
  • We partnered with The Westin Tysons Corner to host four locally-based association planners and their guests for dinner at the hotel and for a performance at Wolf Trap.
  • We attended Connect in New Orleans, LA in search of more association bookings.  In partnership with Virginia Tourism and our fellow DMOs from around the Commonwealth, we hosted a special “after hours” event for the association planners in attendance for the fourth consecutive year.
  • In September, we will attend the Overseas Brats “Gathering” in Huntsville, AL, in search of more “Brat” reunion bookings.
  • We’ll exhibit at the Virginia Society of Association Executives (VSAE) Fall Expo this October in Richmond, VA, for the 12th consecutive year.  Eleven of our great Fairfax County meeting hotels will join us in our booth as we continue to attract more Virginia state association groups to Fairfax County.
  • Visit Fairfax President & CEO Barry Biggar and National Sales Manager Dean Miller took a” hard hat” tour of the construction site where the new National Museum of the United States Army is being built, on the grounds of Fort Belvoir here in the county.  Completion of the museum is tentatively scheduled for late in 2019.  Visit Fairfax is already hard at work contacting Army reunion groups about holding their gatherings here once the museum opens to the public.
  • Visit Fairfax played host to the summer meeting of the Virginia Association of Destination Marketing Organizations (VADMO), and assisted in organizing presentations on attracting and hosting reunion groups, hotel renovations, and promoting retail as a marketing strategy.
  • Looking ahead to 2018, Visit Fairfax will host The Military Reunion Network (TMRN) for their annual Educational Summit. This event will bring the planners representing approximately 40 military reunion groups to the county for three days of classes, speakers, and sightseeing.
  • Visit Fairfax was instrumental in booking two recent high-profile groups of note:
    • The USS Forrestal Association met here in July, filling their host hotel (the Hyatt Regency Dulles) and an overflow property (the Hyatt Place Herndon / Dulles Airport East).  The group met over the 50th anniversary of a horrific fire that took place onboard the ship in July of 1967, claiming the lives of 134 of their shipmates.
    • The Cadillac & LaSalle Club held their 2017 “Grand National” event here in August, filling their host hotel (the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner) and an overflow property (the Westin Tysons Corner).  For four days, the parking lot of the Hilton was filled with beautifully restored classic Cadillac and LaSalle automobiles.

Government:NATCAP SGMP

  • Visit Fairfax attended the 2017 Society of Government Meeting Planners (SGMP) National Education Conference in Ft. Lauderdale from June 6-8, 2017.  The SGMP NEC is the largest annual event in the government meetings industry.  Click here to learn more about upcoming local SGMP NATCAP meetings.
     

Sports: 

  • On June 6, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted 9-1 to approve Supervisor Pat Herrity’s (R-Springfield) motion to form a Sports Tourism Task Force. The task force will look for ways to attract more tournaments to the area and build new sporting facilities for the county’s residents.  See Fairfax County Clerk’s Board Summary (pg. 21) for more information
  • Connect Sports Visit Fairfax will attend the CONNECT Sports Marketplace in New Orleans, LA from August 21-23, 2017.  It is an annual education conference and reverse tradeshow bringing together active planners and rights-holders, suppliers, and experts in sports events for three days of general sessions, workshops, and pre-set appointments.
     

Tour & Travel:

  • Travel Alliance Partner TAP DanceVisit Fairfax's Melissa McClure recently attended Travel Alliance Partner’s TAP Dance in Tucson, AZ. This show allows Visit Fairfax to have appointments with 30+ tour operator partners to gain insight into what the current national tour trends are and how Visit Fairfax can be of assistance in future tour development.
  • We recently hosted a brewery "site inspection” for one of our clients, the America Tour Guide Association. If you have space to accommodate 50+ people at your business, please contact Melissa McClure at mmcclure@fxva.com.
  • We toured Scott Balyo, the new Executive Director of Capital Region USA (Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC’s DMO for international markets), around Fairfax County on August 3 & 4. Thank you to The Westin Tysons Corner for providing Scott accommodations for the night. Feel free to wish Scott congratulations in his new position via sbalyo@capitalregionusa.org.
  • Destination DC will be hosting their annual Marketing Outlook Meeting on August 22nd. If you would like notes from this event, please reach out to mmcclure@fxva.com.
  • Visit Fairfax will be attending the Student and Youth Travel Association’s Annual Conference in Albuquerque, NM this year from August 25 – 29. This allows us to connect with student tour operators who are a large contributor of group tours to Fairfax County. If you are interested in attending SYTA next year, it will be taking place in Baltimore, MD. Learn more here.
  • Visit Fairfax will participate in Brand USA’s India Sales Mission from September 10-15, 2017 going to Mumbai, Chennai, and New Delhi.
  • Visit Fairfax’s Melissa McClure has been asked to participate in National Tour Association's (NTA) first-ever DMO Network. This will be an idea-sharing organization for the group tour market. We are always interested in hearing additional suggestions and brainstorming ideas to help us progress as a DMO for our stakeholders. Feel free to get in touch at mmcclure@fxva.com
     

Visitor Services:

  • Summer is here and the time is right for sending your clients to the Fairfax County Visitor Center! Located right inside Tysons Corner Center, the friendly counselors there are full of suggestions for how to have a fantastic vacation in Fairfax County. With plenty of insider tips, brochures, maps, restaurant menus and much more for the county, as well as information on visitor attractions throughout the general area, the Center is “information central” for your guests. Located on the second level of Tysons Corner Center (near Nordstrom), the Center is open M – Sat from 10- 6 and from 11-6 on Sunday.  Call them at 703-752-9500 or email at fxva2@fxva.com.
     

Media & Communications:

  • Visit Fairfax participated in a Washington, DC and Virginia-sponsored press tour for a group of 6 Indian journalists and a representative from Air India on a tour of the Washington, DC and Northern Virginia region. The group flew into Washington Dulles International Airport on the inaugural Air India flight.  Thank you to Mount Vernon, Haandi, and the Hyatt Regency Tysons Corner Center for assistance with this FAM tour. Air India press tour
  • We attended the quarterly Mid-Atlantic Tourism Public Relations Alliance (MATPRA) meeting this past July in Wilmington, DE.
  • Visit Fairfax will participate in the MATPRA Annual Media Marketplace in September in Winchester, VA, where we will meet with 60+ journalists who cover the Mid-Atlantic region. Prior to the Marketplace, Fairfax County will be a stop on a pre-Marketplace familiarization tour for 5-7 journalists, along with Loudoun County and Prince William County. 
  • Visit Fairfax continues to see incredible growth on our social media accounts. Please help us continue to grow by tagging us (@VisitFairfax) on your own accounts and by using our hashtag, #FXVA .