VIRGINIA’S TOURISM INDUSTRY
Virginia’s Tourism Industry is a network of statewide businesses and tourism offices located in all urban and rural areas, including state and federal parks, private property and public areas⎯ from coastal bays and beaches to main street communities, farm country, mountains, rivers, lakes and beaches ⎯ each a KEY partner creating visitor tourism experiences.
Virginia travelers are ⎯ multi-generational families, couples, friends, groups including businesses, corporations, associations and sporting events ⎯ Domestic and International.
This includes all levels of lodging, dining, retail, attractions, parks, arenas and outdoor areas.
DMO ⏐ Destination Marketing / Management Organization
⦾ Local Tourism Offices are called Destination Marketing /or/ Management Organizations or DMOs
⦾ Local governments fund and staff Economic Development & Tourism offices to create strategic plans, marketing plans, events and offer business resources to support the local economy and businesses by welcoming visitors of all types to stay, enjoy, return and tell others to visit
⦾ Some localities form a Chamber of Commerce, who directs tourism for the locality
⦾ Others form regional Tourism Associations to leverage their marketing and spending power
⦿ Find Virginia’s statewide tourism DMOs visit > VA Tourism Industry Contacts
⦿ Visit this link to reach VADMO (statewide DMO association)
⦿ Visit this link to reach the Virginia Main Street program
* statewide mainstreet tourism development & marketing
TOURISM CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
⦾ Many DMOs hire marketing and advertising firms to use state-of-the art research to create their brand, create marketing campaigns and review the results, answering questions such as:
⎯ How much marketing budget do we spend to reach our goal?
⎯ To attract repeat or new visitors from different areas, with different interests and travel budgets?
⎯ Have we researched our out-of-state competition similar to us, to gain insight and perspective
⎯ Did more visitors come because of our ads and social media campaign?
⎯ Are more people aware of our local destination’s brand?
⎯ Where and how should we spend are budget, targeting which visitors?
⎯ What research do we use to find the answers to ALL our questions?
⦾ Careers in tourism individual businesses, local governments, DMOs and creative agencies
⦾ Partnerships are crucial in tourism, and many DMOs, form strong relationships with local leaders, Chambers of Commerce (VACCE), Planning District Commissions (VAPDC), and local banks, city councils and county boards
⦿ Find job opportunities with Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) visit > VTC Employment Page
⦿ Check Virginia Workforce Connection, Virginia’s one-stop electronic workforce system
⦿ HCareers is for tourism industry & hospitality job and career seekers
⦿ Virginia Restaurant Lodging Travel Association (VRLTA) Job Board for hospitality jobs
LGBTQAI+ AND QUEER TOURISM PARTNERS
Virginia has an exceptial number of LGBTQ+ organizations focused on community support and engagement. Most colleges and universities have a Queer or LGBTQAI+ student (and sometimes faculty) organizations. These groups are part of the tourims industry too, as they hold special events, some annual Pride festivals. Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) and statewide DMOs work with these organizations to promote their events, eager to have out of town/state attendees.
⦿ To find statewide partners visit > Virginia Tourism LGBTQ+ Partners & Resources