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February 16, 2024
Dear Valued Tourism Partners,
We are excited to host four major sports events across the City over the next several days. Promising to be one of the most action-packed periods of the year, the activity kicks off today at the Sports Center with the Virginia High School League State Wrestling Championships for Classes 4, 5, and 6 where 1,100 athletes will compete for the state title. Concurrently, the Sports Center will also play host to the National Indoor Field Hockey Tournament, featuring 1,600 athletes vying for national honors. At the Convention Center, more than 4,000 athletes are expected to be on hand to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Excalibur Cup, a premier gymnastics competition. The weekend's events conclude at the Sports Center with the MEAC Indoor Track Championships, extending into Monday and Tuesday, marking a thrilling end to an action-packed weekend. These events highlight Virginia Beach's position as a premier destination for sports tourism, offering a diverse schedule of competitions that cater to fans of wrestling, field hockey, gymnastics, indoor track & field and a variety of other disciplines.
Thank you for all you do to embrace all our guests, many who visit for one experience and choose to return for another thanks to the amazing hospitality they receive while here. My team and I appreciate all you do.
CVB Sales Activity and News: The CVB team supports the bureau’s strategic pillars of Engagement, Growth, Brand Development, Culture, and Accountability.
Our marketing and public relations efforts encourage journalists from across the globe to remain interested in covering our destination. We’re pleased to share the following:
- The Scottish Sun featured Virginia Beach’s Delta Hotels by Marriott in their ‘Hot Spots’ section. The Scottish edition of The Sun attracts over 132k monthly readers, generating great exposure for Virginia Beach in the UK market. Based in Glasgow, it duplicates much of the content of the main edition but with alternative coverage of Scottish news, travel, and sports. The Delta mention made the cover - check it out here.
- The Edmonton Sun, part of Canada's largest media conglomerate, Postmedia Network, published a piece by journalist Rita Demontis that mentions Virginia Beach. This article was syndicated in eight daily news outlets reaching Canadians in key markets across the country including daily newspapers in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, the Maritimes, and beyond. In addition to the print story, the digital article has a UVM (unique viewers per month) of 4.1M.
Members of the M&C Sales Team traveled to Richmond this week on a sales mission to spread the love for Virginia Beach meetings. They hosted a luncheon where they engaged with more than a dozen clients representing the association, religious, and government markets.
The Convention Center successfully hosted a two-day retreat for City Council this week. Opening today in all four halls is the Excalibur Cup Gymnastics competition. This competition, with record-setting attendance expected this year, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Tuesday is the Official for a Day Luncheon for Virginia Beach Public Schools and then load in for the Virginia Fire & Rescue Conference begins. The Convention Center has already welcomed over 30,000 guests through its doors in 2024.
The Resort Management Office advises that minor repairs will be made to the bike path along the Boardwalk from 5th to 38th Streets beginning Monday, Feb. 19, 2024. The work is expected to last approximately one week.
Nominate Tourism’s 2024 Hospitality Heroes - It’s time to recognize the best of the best in the Virginia Beach hospitality industry. Nominations are open through Friday, March 1 for the 2024 National Travel & Tourism (NTTW) awards. Honors in more than a dozen categories will be awarded during our annual NTTW Luncheon at the Convention Center on Thursday, May 2. Industry partners are encouraged to take advantage of this free opportunity to shine a light on those staff members whose hard work and dedication help make Virginia Beach the destination of choice for more than 13 million guests each year. Nominate a hospitality hero today! Go to www.visitvirginiabeach.com/nttw for more information.
Virginia Tourism Grant Opportunities - Virginia Tourism Corporation grant programs are open through Thursday, March 14, 2024, at 5 pm EST. Information about the programs, including eligibility, funding tiers, and application instructions can be found on www.vatc.org/grants. Applicants are encouraged to read over the program terms and conditions before applying.
The following programs are now open:
- Virginia Tourism Corporation Marketing Leverage Program
- Virginia Tourism Corporation DMO Marketing Program
- Virginia Tourism Corporation Special Events & Festivals Program
Please note there are new funding tiers, match levels, and attendance requirements for 2024. A recorded webinar that goes over these changes is available on www.vatc.org/grants.
Virginia Beach Restaurant Association Speed Networking Event - Please join the Virginia Beach Restaurant Association (VBRA) for an upcoming business networking event, Order Up, on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, from 2 - 5 pm. This event brings together VBRA members - restaurant owner/managers - with local businesses and those interested in conducting business with the Virginia Beach restaurant community. No cost to VBRA members and business partners. Contact VBRA Executive Director Martha Davenport at 757-567-9304 or director@dineinvb.com to register and find more information.
EVENTS & HAPPENINGS
To view the 2024 CVB Events Calendar, click here. To view the Resort area entertainment schedule, click here. For easy access to all of Town Center’s events and activities, click here.
My team and I are committed to you and our industry and are here to help any way that we can. Please let me know how we can assist you.
Sincerely,
Nancy Helman
CVB Director
CVB Strategic Pillars:
Engagement|Growth|Brand Development|Culture|Accountability
Hotel Occupancy Data for the Week of January 28 - February 3: Virginia Beach’s hotel occupancy rate for the week of January 28 – February 3 was up 9% at 42.9% occupancy and up 4.8% for the running 28-day trend. ADR was up 0.5% at $101.51 but down -0.2% for the running 28-day trend. RevPAR was up 9.6% at $43.55 and up 4.6% for the running 28-day trend.
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