April 23, 2021

Dear Valued Tourism Partners,  

While Americans are becoming more open to travel, the tourism industry is facing a critical staffing shortage. Locally, the reality is that our high season is just weeks away, and many jobs remain unfilled. A strong 2021 season will help toward industry recovery but we need people in these job openings to make that happen. To that end, I am excited to announce that the VBCVB has partnered with the Virginia Beach hotel and restaurant associations to present a virtual job fair during National Travel & Tourism Week (NTTW).  

The NTTW Virginia Beach Hospitality Job Fair will be an online hiring event from 1 – 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 6. All Virginia Beach hospitality industry businesses with employment opportunities are encouraged to register for this free event which will offer a wide network of prospective candidates searching for work in the local tourism industry. The registration links are: 

Exhibitors:  https://app.brazenconnect.com/a/VBRA/e/Y5Y51/exhibitors  
Applicants: https://app.brazenconnect.com/a/VBRA/e/Y5Y51 

For more information, email Stacey Shiflet at contactvbra@gmail.com or Diana Burke at diana.burke@vbha.net. 

Let’s continue to pull together. The VBCVB remains committed and is ready to assist in any way that we can. 

If you have a chance to stop by the VB Sports Center this weekend, check out the 32^nd Annual High School Nationals, the premier wrestling tournament in the country. Wrestlers from across the nation compete to become All-Americans. Approximately 2200 athletes, coaches and talent scouts are in town through Sunday. Enhanced health and safety protocols will be in place throughout the event to ensure a safe environment for all. 

Sincerely,

Quick Glance at Virginia Beach's Performance

Virginia Beach YoY Hotel Occupancy

*The next several weeks of our YoY data will be considerably different; this time last year the government instituted COVID-19 restriction policies (March 16, 2020).

Source: Smith Travel Research Inc. (STR) - Republication or other use of this data without the express written permission of STR is strictly prohibited.

Virginia Beach Weekly Occupancy Competition Set Comparison

Source: Smith Travel Research Inc. (STR) - Republication or other use of this data without the express written permission of STR is strictly prohibited.

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