If you have not done so already, please register to attend the VA-1 Tourism Conference: The Power of Passion to be held September 10-11, 2008 at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center in Roanoke. You don't want to miss valuable break-out sessions, an insightful keynote speaker, and the unveiling of VTC's new advertising creative!

To remain fresh for returning audiences, VTC is seeking new and exciting content for the highly interactive Passionality Sitelet on Virginia.org. Here is your opportunity to have your content featured in the sitelet. Click here to learn more and to submit your attraction or destination for possible inclusion.

October marks 20 years of Virginia Wine Month and VTC needs your help to celebrate. DMOS, hotels, wineries, B&Bs, restaurants and attractions can develop packages, promotions and deals for the month of October and post them now on Virginia.org, to be included in marketing efforts. The theme for wine month is Find the One You Love, so feel free to incorporate it into titles and descriptions. Log in to the Administration Tool to add your listings.

Fall is just around the corner! Please add your fall events, packages and promotions - including gas deals - to Virginia.org to be highlighted on the Virginia Fall website, www.FallinVirginia.org. These will also appear on Virginia.org so you are getting double exposure! The site will be updated by August 7th. Log in to the Administration Tool to add your deals and events.

VTC's new media plan, reflecting pre-negotiated cooperative advertising opportunities for Virginia industry partners, from January 2009 – June 2010, will be posted to www.vatc.org on Friday, August 15. An intensive review and explanation of the plan will be provided during the VA-1 conference in September. Register now for the VA-1 Tourism Conference: The Power of Passion.

International arrivals to the USA grew by 10% in 2007. Learn about ways to grow your international business by joining the Capital Region USA’s email list.  You will receive periodic updates about cooperative marketing activities you can take part in across the region’s top inbound markets.

VTC's Virginia Sports marketing initiative is rapidly moving forward and we would like your assistance. We are looking for great sports images from across the state that we can use in our promotional materials, sports advertising and our future sports website.

Images must be 300 dpi and original TIFF format, if available. Copies of photographer and model releases allowing VTC to use the images in print and online for event and venue promotion must be provided. Send CD of images and copies of releases to:
Joni Johnson, National Sale Manager
Virginia Tourism Corporation
901 E. Byrd Street
Richmond, VA 23219

TOURISM WORKS for Your Virginia Business! Meet with Virginia Tourism in your community.

Southern Virginia for Tourism Web Training on August 5-7
Virginia Tourism wants to drive traffic to your business! Meet one-on-one with Virginia Tourism staff to get listed on www.Virginia.org, the Commonwealth’s official travel and tourism website. Come by during lunch or a break and leave with an online ad and access to Virginia Tourism marketing, development and educational tools – everything you need to help your tourism business GROW! Locations include Franklin, Alberta, and Keysville, VA. Get all the details here.

Charlottesville’s Paramount Theater for Tourism Help Desk on August 21
Come by during lunch or a break and you’ll meet one-on-one with Virginia Tourism’s leave marketing, development and educational teams. Pitch your attraction to Virginia Tourism’s PR staff, find out what tourism grant funding is available and review Virginia’s advertising & media plan to find the ad CoOp ad that fits your budget best. Let VTC’s staff share their insight and help you target and reach travelers, and the media, to increase your tourism visitation.

August 21?9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Get all the details here.
The Paramount Theater (on the Downtown Mall) Thursday,

• ALL visitor-friendly restaurants, lodging, events, attractions and retail shopping are eligible Including B&Bs, hotels, motels; diners, fast-food and delis; retail wine, culinary, clothing, home & accessory shops
• Get listed on www.Virginia.org and get in front of 5 million+ website visitors a year! – FREE
• Leave with access to a new, dynamic marketing mix that will enhance, or jump-start, your marketing efforts

The acclaimed HBO mini-series John Adams, which was primarily shot in Virginia, was recently honored with 23 Emmy nominations, by far the most nominations received by any television show this year. Among its many nominations were outstanding miniseries, director, writing, and costumes. Paul Giamatti as John Adams and Laura Linney as Abigail Adams were also nominated as best actor and actress. The project was one of the largest ever shot in the state, bringing more than $80 million in economic impact to Virginia.

VTC is looking for Virginia partners to exhibit at the following tradeshow: HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings National – September 10-11, 2008. Contact Joni Johnson at 804-545-5544 or JJohnson@virginia.org for more details.

Let us help you get the most "bang" for your buck! Reel in our Virginia travelers and showcase your destination at a Virginia Welcome Center, for an entire month! Customize your blitz options when you take advantage of custom displays, event days, service counter exposure or even logo-wear advertising. These are just a few of the options that your organization can use during its Industry Tourism Blitz. To find out more about this new advertising and promotional opportunity, contact Jane Govoruhk at 804-545-5520 or JGovoruhk@virginia.org.

Installation for the new, state-of-the-art graphic display panels is now complete and we’re awaiting your images! These new display panels are available at the Clear Brook, Fredericksburg and East Coast Gateway Welcome Center locations and come in various sizes and rates. For all of the details and to see display panel options, please contact Jane Govoruhk at 804-545-5520 or JGovoruhk@virginia.org. Reserve yours today as availability is limited.

Virginia is in the spotlight for group travel, meetings and sports marketing! Don’t miss the new Fall Marketing Forum, Wednesday, October 15th at the Richmond Marriott. New this year, we have dynamic speakers, workshops and panel discussions for group travel, meetings and sports marketing statewide efforts, along with VTC Marketing Plan and industry updates. Stay tuned for registration information, agenda and details via the Dashboard and on www.vatc.org. See you there!

The Virginia Commission for the Arts and the Virginia Tourism Corporation are partnering to offer a special grant program to assist Virginia arts organizations and the Virginia tourism industry with direct expenses related to tourism promotion efforts. The Tourism and the Arts Program provides up to $5,000 matching grants. Eligible applicants are financial partnerships of at least three entities with the lead applicant required to be a Virginia Commission for the Arts General Operating Support grantee. The deadline for the return of the applications is Tuesday, September 23, 2008. Applications are now open and are available to download by clicking on either link below:
Tourism and the Arts Program Application - PDF
Tourism and the Arts Program Application - Word Doc

2009 marks the 40th anniversary of Virginia is for Lovers, one of the most recognizable tourism slogans in the world. You can participate in the 40th anniversary year by purchasing an advertisement or listing in the 2009 Virginia Travel Guide, the VTC’s primary consumer fulfillment piece. The travel guide is printed in December, and the VTC will distribute 600,000 printed copies in 2009 and another 100,000 electronic versions of the guide.

For information about ad rates and sizes, contact Jo Diedrich at Leisure Publishing at 540-090-0052. For listing information, contact Jenny Dorsey at Leisure at 540-989-6138. For general questions, please contact Judy Watkins at VTC at 804-545-5563 or jwatkins@virginia.org.

Leads are now available from the Fraternity Executives Association Annual Conference, June 9-12, 2008 in Miami, FL. Please contact Robin Mamunes at rmamunes@virginia.org to request them.

The Entrepreneur Express Workshops are designed to provide information on available business resources and deliver practical, hands-on training covering key elements of business practice. Workshop segments include information on how to start and operate a business, grow an existing business, marketing strategies, financing and locating available resources. Several Entrepreneur Express events are scheduled around the state in the coming weeks in Clintwood, Palmyra, and Gate City. Complete schedule of dates and locations.

The Grantsmanship Center Foundation will be holding a 5-day Grant Writing Class at the Richlands Business Incubator in Richlands, Virginia September 15th through the 19th. Seating is limited to 30 participants and will fill up quickly! The Grantsmanship Center Foundation will offer a limited number of half-tuition scholarships for organizations with annual budgets of less than $300,000. Please contact The Grantsmanship Center Foundation directly at 800-421-9512 or go to www.tgci.com/gtpregister.asp for more information or to register.

Are you starting a business in Virginia? Virginia’s Business One Stop system can help! The Business One Stop system will help you determine business formation requirements based on your specific type of business and business activities. In addition, the system will pre-fill some of the forms required to start your business. Visit www.virginia.gov/bos/index.html to access the Business One Stop System.

Join Destination DC for their Annual Marketing Outlook Meeting Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. Panel discussion topics will include cooperative opportunities, maximizing your efforts in today's economy, and much more. Learn more and register online at http://www.washington.org/e-invites/marketingrollout2008/e-invite/index.html

The VTC Travel & Consumer Show program is about to start for the 2008-2009 season. Please send completed contract and payment to: Shenandoah Valley Travel Association, PO Box 1040, New Market, VA 22844, FAX 540-740-3100
PROGRAM IS OPEN TO THE FIRST 40 PARTICIPANTS. LAST DAY TO REGISTER Sep. 30th.
Questions Please Contact: Tom Vick, Luray Caverns, 540-743-6551 ext. 248 or Jim Mathias 804 314-3451; email: gjmathias@verizon.net

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