On November 5, Roanoke City Mayor David Bowers, City of Salem Mayor Randy Foley and Roanoke County Vice-Chairman Charlotte Moore accepted the 2013 Southeast Tourism Society’s (STS) Governmental Tourism Leadership Shining Example Award in Jacksonville, FL.
The award honors an elected official (city, county, state or federal) whose support or influence greatly enhances the tourism industry. This is the first time a joint jurisdictional nomination has been recognized.
All three governments banded together in support of the Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau (RVCVB) by signing off on a regional tourism agreement investing three percentage points of the local lodging tax to the RVCVB, adding over one million dollars dedicated to marketing Virginia’s Blue Ridge.
“This is a big accomplishment for regional cooperation and the beginning of a new era for tourism,” said Landon Howard, President of the RVCVB. “This is all about building a regional destination for Virginia’s Blue Ridge, creating more jobs and increased local revenue. We are already beginning to see the benefits of this investment with tourism numbers trending upward with more hotel rooms sold and more lodging tax revenues collected than at any point in our history.”
Due to the increased marketing support from these local governments, the RVCVB will be able to expand its marketing reach to potential visitors through a campaign designed to attract target markets in Virginia and North Carolina to Virginia’s Blue Ridge. “The support for tourism from our local governments is a great investment for Virginia Blue Ridge,” said Lee Wilhelm, Chair of the RVCVB. “Visitors don’t see city or county lines. The CVB’s job is to sell the area as a whole and can now do it much more effectively. We appreciate the confidence that our elected officials have placed in our organization.”
In 2012 tourism in Virginia’s Blue Ridge region generated $730 million in revenue, providing $52 million in state and local taxes and supporting more than 7,200 jobs.
