Virgo Awards 2013Fairfax County, VA - June 7, 2013 - Visit Fairfax (http://www.fxva.com/) was honored with three awards at the fifth annual Virgo Travel & Tourism Awards dinner, held recently at the Martha Washington Inn in Abingdon, Virginia. Visit Fairfax is proud to be honored with Virgo Awards in the following categories:

Advertising and Promotions - Online and eMarketing for the 2012 Online Marketing Campaign, which employed a number of integrated strategies that included eNewsletters, search engine marketing and optimization, contextual banner advertising and social media strategies. The result, through a Texas A&M University conversion study, found that the program delivered a total return-on-investment of more than $120 returned for every $1 spent and brought in net visitor spending of $54.3 million.

Advertising and Promotion - Print Brochure for the Fairfax County Civil War Sesquicentennial Brochure, which was developed as a way to increase interest and awareness in County Civil War history and to drive visitors to and around the region. The 12-panel brochure details many of the region's Civil War attractions, and features interactive QR codes that link to informative videos about several of the sites. The brochure also features a beautiful heritage map and a Civil War timeline. In 2012, Visit Fairfax distributed more than 30,000 brochures to potential consumers and influencers, as well as distributing them to Fairfax County Public Schools and Libraries as an educational piece.

Heritage Tourism (Initiatives that preserve and celebrate the culture, history, and personal interaction within a community) for the Fairfax County Civil War Trails Marker Legacy Project, which saw the implementation of nine Virginia Civil War Trails markers in each supervisory district within Fairfax County. The objective of the project was to properly commemorate the war, but also leave behind a new tourism infrastructure that would spur economic activity relating to heritage tourism for years to come, as well as increase visitation to the newly marked Civil War sites.

The annual Virgo Awards, presented by the Virginia Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (VACVB), are handed out to "individuals, groups, businesses and destination marketing organizations that significantly contribute to the Commonwealth of Virginia's economy through tourism promotion and development." 

ABOUT VISIT FAIRFAX

Visit Fairfax is the official tourism organization for Fairfax County, Virginia. Charged with destination marketing and tourism promotion, it is directed by many of the County's top tourism and hospitality leaders. For more information, please visit http://www.fxva.com/.

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