Expand domestic and international in-bound travel and motion picture production to generate revenue and employment in Virginia.

Foster a spirit of partnership within Virginia’s tourism and motion picture industries.

Love is Integrity, Passion, and Results.

Integrity: Be the Best You

• Respect, value, and appreciate others with kindness


• Work through differences


• Be transparent


• Take personal responsibility

Passion: Thirst for Knowledge

• Seek new ideas and fresh thinking


• Stay curious and encourage questions


• Be purpose driven


• Value the people, the brand, and the industry

Results: Move Mountains

• Define, measure, and communicate collective goals


• Continuously evaluate and innovate


• Contribute to the success of others


• Celebrate shared accomplishments

The Virginia Tourism Authority (VTA) is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia authorized to do business as the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC).  The agency was established effective July 1, 1999 (§ 2.2-2315 et seq., Code of Virginia).  Prior to that date, the state’s tourism marketing program was administered by the Division of Tourism within the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.  Under the Code of Virginia, the Virginia Tourism Authority was given broad powers to “…stimulate the tourism segment of the economy by promoting, advertising, and marketing the Commonwealth's many tourist attractions and by coordinating other private and public efforts to do the same…”  The General Assembly also recognized that the “…film industry is a legitimate and important part of economic development in the Commonwealth.”

The VTC has an advisory Board of Directors comprised of 17 members, including the Lieutenant Governor, the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, the Secretary of Finance, the Secretary of Natural Resources, the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, and 12 members appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly.  The Governor designates the Chairman of the Board and the Board may elect one member to serve as the Vice-Chairman.  The President/CEO of the VTA is appointed by the Governor and reports to the Secretary of Commerce and Trade.  The Board of Directors serves in an advisory capacity to the President/CEO, who serves as the Board’s ex-officio Secretary and Treasurer.

The VTA is headquartered in Richmond.  In addition, the Authority operates 13 state Welcome Centers located strategically around the state to provide information to people traveling in Virginia.

The Virginia Tourism Authority will execute its overall tourism strategy with advice from the Board of Directors, in cooperation with the private sector tourism industry, and based on research, its Marketing Plan, and the State Tourism Plan. (The State Tourism Plan, which is currently in the process of being updated, is focused on product development, creative and innovative partnership marketing, and workforce training.) The Authority will continue to identify growth potential and inspire investment from both the public and private sectors in tourism development. It will reinforce its commitment to excellence in marketing, continue advocacy on all levels for public and private tourism investment, and prioritize growth areas to ensure continued visitor spending growth.

From 1979 through 2020 the total economic impact of Virginia’s film and television industry was over $6.8 billion. Financial incentives offered to productions in the form of tax credits or grants are essential to attract this work. Compared to most other states Virginia’s incentive program is relatively small. Tax credits total $6.5 million per year and an additional $4.0 million annual appropriation is provided for the Governor’s Motion Picture Opportunity Fund. While these resources, along with aggressive marketing by the Virginia Film Office, have been cost-effective, Virginia still faces tough competition from other states that provide much more incentive funding. For example, Georgia, West Virginia, and Massachusetts offer uncapped tax credits, while New York ($420 million/year), Louisiana ($180 million/year), Pennsylvania ($70 million/year), and North Carolina ($31 million/year) offer generous production incentives. The Virginia Film Office’s plan for strengthening Virginia’s film and television industry includes targeting episodic television for the ongoing jobs, long-term investment, and related Virginia tourism promotional partnership opportunities, independent films budgeted under $10 million that call for more high-level local employment, and nurturing the in-state industry and academic programs. Global demand for content is growing exponentially, and the content creation industry is lucrative, resilient, and fast-growing. Content manufacturing is a 21st century industry that is perfectly supported by the diverse location palette, talent pool, accessibility, and high quality of life offered by Virginia.

The Virginia Tourism Authority relies heavily on technology to market and promote the Commonwealth as a travel destination. The Internet is the primary tool to reach and engage consumers both nationally and internationally. With the technology changing rapidly, the Authority needs to ensure that it stays on the cutting edge to meet the needs of a technology-savvy user. In order to maintain the superior quality of the website, the Authority must continually upgrade the application software, content management systems, and underlying hardware to meet the internet and user requirements. The Authority launched a newly designed and built website in 2021. The Authority's internal information technology systems are provided and managed by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership per a Memorandum of Understanding dated July 1, 1999 and amended June 16, 2011.

The Virginia Tourism Authority has been able to retain employees long-term, which has resulted in a stable and high-quality workforce. In recent years, VTA payroll costs have been rising, which reflects the need to be competitive with the private sector in order to attract the best candidates and to retain well-qualified workers. VTA has been recognized as one of the best tourism offices in the United States and has won awards for its efforts. However, having a large number of long-tenured employees will impact the future of the Authority and succession planning is and will continue to be critical.

The Authority encourages continuing professional development through Innerwill to provide a customized leadership training program for all employees with management responsibilities and to conduct a focus group for younger, nonmanagerial employees regarding the agency's workplace climate.

The Authority relies heavily on part-time staff to operate the state Welcome Centers. The funds for this come largely from the Virginia Department of Transportation and the sale of brochure display space and advertising panels. The funding, however, has not kept pace with the cost of operations, which puts additional financial pressure on the Authority.

The Virginia Tourism Authority's main office is located at 901 East Cary Street, Richmond, VA 23219.  The facility is leased and managed by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership per a Memorandum of Understanding dated July 1, 1999 and amended June 16, 2011.  In addition, the Authority operates 13 state Welcome Centers located strategically around the state to provide information to people traveling in Virginia.  Two welcome centers were acquired by the Authority – the Danville Welcome Center and the Potomac Gateway Visitor Center in King George County.  The Danville Welcome Center continues to be operated by the City of Danville per a Memorandum of Agreement.  The Potomac Gateway Visitor Center was closed in November 2008 due to budget reductions.  In April 2012, the Authority entered into a Concession Agreement with the Dahlgren Heritage Foundation for the operation of the Potomac Gateway property.  The agreement allows the Foundation to operate the property as the Dahlgren Heritage Museum.  The Dahlgren Heritage Museum serves to tell the story of military history at Dahlgren as well as to promote tourism within the Commonwealth.

Unpredictable funding levels and the lack of a dedicated, independent stream of funding continues to threaten the health of the Virginia Tourism Authority. An unpredictable budget presents great challenges in long-term planning and marketing and greatly impacts the Authority’s ability to continue to grow visitor spending. In recent years, some competitor states have received millions of dollars in additional appropriations to promote tourism and film production. The Authority receives about $1.3 million annually from the Virginia Department of Transportation to support the operations of Virginia's Welcome Centers. The funds, however, are not sufficient to fully fund the Welcome Centers' operations, which total over $2.6 million annually. Therefore, the Authority supplements this funding with revenues from brochure rack fees as well as general fund dollars.

A related issue concerns the growing expectations of incentives, especially for film production. Currently, the majority of states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, offer film incentives. Compared to most other states, Virginia’s incentive program is relatively small. Tax credits total $6.5 million per year and an additional $4.0 million annual appropriation is provided for the Governor’s Motion Picture Opportunity Fund. Virginia faces tough competition from other states that provide much more incentive funding. For example, Georgia, West Virginia, and Massachusetts offer uncapped tax credits, while New York ($420 million/year), Louisiana ($180 million/year), Pennsylvania ($70 million/year), and North Carolina ($31 million/year) offer generous production incentives.

In FY 2023 the Virginia Tourism Authority will operate with a general fund budget of $27 million. These funds support the marketing, visitor services, Virginia Film Office, partnership marketing, and minimal administrative support functions. The Authority aggressively leverages funding and forms partnerships with industry and government entities to extend the reach of its limited budget.

The Virginia Tourism Authority is not on the books of the State Comptroller, so the only funds reflected are general fund appropriations. However, the Authority does receive about $1.3 million annually from the Virginia Department of Transportation ($1.2 million for the operation of the state's 13 Welcome Centers and $125,000 as a pass-through for the Danville Welcome Center, which is locally operated). These funds, however, are not sufficient to fully fund the Welcome Centers' operations, which total over $2.5 million annually.

TThe Virginia Tourism Authority is not on the books of the State Comptroller, so the only funds reflected are general fund appropriations. However, the Authority does receive about $1.3 million annually from the Virginia Department of Transportation ($1.2 million for the operation of the state's 13 Welcome Centers and $125,000 as a pass-through for the Danville Welcome Center, which is locally operated). These funds, however, are not sufficient to fully fund the Welcome Centers' operations, which total over $2.5 million annually.

In addition, the Authority collects almost $1.1 million (projected FY 2023 collections) from a variety of other sources, including brochure rack fees at Welcome Centers and rest areas, royalties from the sale of "Virginia is for Lovers" merchandise, and other miscellaneous fees and collections.

The following is a summary of the Virginia Tourism Authority's key statistics:

Total Visits to the Virginia.org Website in FY 2022: Total daily visitor sessions recorded on the Virginia.org website.

Total Visits to the Virginia Travel Blog in FY 2022: Total daily visitor sessions recorded on the blog.Virginia.org website.

Total Number of New Page Likes on Facebook in FY 2022: The total number of new people who have liked the Virginia is for Lovers Facebook page.

Total Number of Facebook Page Likes at the End of FY 2022: The number of Facebook page likes as of June 30, 2018.

Total Post Impressions on Facebook in FY 2022: The number of impressions seen of any content associated with the Virginia is for Lovers Facebook page.

Total Number of Twitter Impressions in FY 2022: The number of impressions seen of any content associated with the Virginia is for Lovers Twitter page.

Total Number of Twitter Engagements in FY 2022: The number of engagements (retweet, favorite, reply, mention, link click) on a tweet from the Virginia is for Lovers Twitter page.

Total Number of New Instagram Followers in FY 2022: The number of new people who have liked the Virginia is for Lovers Instagram page.

Total Number of Instagram Post Engagements in FY 2022: The number of engagements (like, comment) on a post from the Virginia is for Lovers Instagram page.

Total Number of Facebook Video Views in FY 2022: The number of times a video from the Virginia is for Lovers Facebook page is viewed for at least three seconds.

Total Number of Digital Referrals to Industry Partners in FY 2022: Links clicked on by visitors to agency websites that connected them to an external website.

Total Number of Projects Assisted by Virginia Film Office Staff in FY 2022: The total number of film, television, documentary, and commercial projects assisted by Virginia Film Office staff.

Total Earned Media Reach in FY 2022 (Domestic and Global): Earned media refers to publicity gained through promotional efforts other than paid media advertising or owned channels. VTA measures earned media impact by reach. Earned media reach is determined by the number of potential people exposed to the coverage secured by VTA.  VTA utilizes the public relations and media monitoring software TrendKite to support reporting and analytics.

Total Number of Media Interactions in FY 2022 (Domestic and International):  Media interactions include the following:  a member of the media participated in an individual visit to the Commonwealth; participated in a group visit or familiarization tour to the Commonwealth; met with VTA staff or representatives for an out-of-market desk side appointment; attended an out-of-market media event; or attended an out-of-market media reception during a Governor’s Trade Mission.

Total Number of Earned Media Placements in FY 2022 (Domestic and International):  Earned media placements refers to the articles, editorial coverage, feature stories, blog posts, social media posts, round-up articles, etc. a member of the media writes and subsequently publishes after one or several media interactions with VTA Communications staff.

Total Number of Partners Participating in VTC grant programs in FY 2022: The number of tourism businesses, organizations, and localities participating in the Marketing Leverage Program, which provides grants to tourism partnerships for new tourism marketing programs.

Total Funding Provided by Partners Participating in VTC grant programs in FY 2022: The amount of matching funding provided by partners participating in the Marketing Leverage Program, which provides grants to tourism partnerships for new tourism marketing programs.

Total Number of Entities Assisted with Tourism Planning and Development in FY 2022: The number of businesses, entepreneurs, destination marketing organizations, localities, regions, trails, and other tourism organizations assisted with tourism planning and development.

Due to the increasing economic reliance on the Internet, the agency’s web-based applications (especially mobile) will need to continue to grow and

evolve to meet the increasing customer demand. There is also a growing demand for grant funding as more and more local governments and businesses see the benefits of participating in the agency’s cooperative marketing programs. Finally, the state’s burgeoning motion picture production industry will result in a growing customer base related to both production companies (including producers and filmmakers) and Virginia-based crew and actors.

The Virginia Tourism Authority provides the following services:

Brand Management: The advertising program develops and promotes the Virginia brand through social media, broadcast, and digital media. The media plan targets frequent travelers within markets that provide the highest potential number of visitors to Virginia. The media plan includes buy-downs and cooperative support for Virginia’s tourism industry.

Digital Marketing: The digital marketing program manages VTA’s primary websites: virginia.org and vatc.org. Virginia.org is a trip planning and travel inspiration website for consumers, while vatc.org is a business-to-business website for Virginia’s tourism industry. Digital marketing manages VTA’s Internet communications technologies and develops web-based business initiatives and partnerships. Digital marketing also regularly educates the industry on the use of online technologies, marketing strategies, and the benefits of full participation in VTA’s consumer website.

Grants: The grants program provides supplemental financial assistance to Virginia destination marketing organizations and tourism businesses. The competitive grants application process is designed to leverage scarce resources, promote the Virginia is for Lovers brand, encourage the creation of partnerships, and enhance the development and marketing of Virginia’s tourism product. In addition, VTA works to identify and publicize other grant opportunities available to the state’s tourism industry from federal, state, and private sources.

Film: The Virginia Film Office is committed to attracting film and video production to Virginia and supporting the indigenous production industry, with the ultimate goal of bringing economic and employment benefits to the Commonwealth. Film, video, and multi-media production is a growth industry worldwide, and the potential economic benefits to the state have increased significantly. The Virginia Film Office pursues its goals through the creation and implementation of innovative marketing and development programs, and by delivering exceptional customer service to inspire repeat business.

Communications: The VTA communications team oversees all strategic communications for the agency, including public relations, social media, and content for the[BD1]  Virginia is for Lovers blog. Working closely with the Brand and Digital Marketing programs, the Communications team is dedicated to the dissemination of information to key constituencies, the execution of a strategic communications plan, and the development of messaging for use inside and outside of the organization. Specifically, the communications team is responsible for generating editorial coverage in targeted national, regional, and in-state publications to promote Virginia as a premier travel destination. The program also is responsible for developing talking points for press conferences and interviews with the Governor and First Lady, Secretary of Commerce and Trade, and VTA’s President & CEO. In addition, it disseminates tourism-related news to the Virginia tourism industry and works with the industry on generating media coverage. The communications team is also responsible for the Virginia is for Lovers brand presence on social media platforms, and oversees a robust social media strategy.

Global Marketing: The global marketing program develops and implements integrated direct sales, marketing, promotions, and public relations strategies that are innovative in order to bring more foreign visitors and vendors to Virginia. The geographic targets are coordinated with air service to gateway airports and are supported by research.

Domestic Sales: VTA markets the Commonwealth as a premier travel destination to tour operators, select travel agents, meeting planners, and sports events rights holders. VTA represents the Commonwealth and provides the Virginia tourism industry with partnership opportunities to collaborate at professional trade shows, sales missions, site inspection tours, and marketing initiatives strategically targeting national, regional, and in-state domestic trade markets.

Research: The research program utilizes a wide range of tourism industry data, metrics, and insights in order to quantify Virginia’s tourism industry and measure organizational goals that are aligned with VTA’s overall strategy. The aims of VTA’s research program are to measure tourism industry performance, conduct consumer studies, and perform competitive industry analysis. The research program works with internal and external partners in primary survey data and segmentation analysis, developing domestic and international visitor profiles, calculating domestic and international market shares, and determining the economic and fiscal impact of tourism on the state and localities. The program also provides detailed and timely information for VTA to measure the benefit-cost ratio of its integrated marketing, digital media, and incentive programs.

Creative Services: The creative services program provides in-house graphic development and production services for VTA. VTA’s library of photography, film, videography, and digital graphics files is managed by creative services.

Fulfillment: The fulfillment program provides information to, and responds to inquiries from, consumers seeking information on travel and tourism in Virginia. Telephone and Internet inquiries are answered by a consumer services center and VTA publication requests are processed by a fulfillment house that provides storage, processing, delivery, and freight services. In addition, VTA operates a full-service distribution center to process customized and bulk orders and to manage the mailing needs of VTA and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.

Welcome Centers: Virginia’s welcome centers are designed to be first-stop destinations for the traveling public, strategically and conveniently located throughout Virginia on major arterial highways. VTA provides a broad array of services to the visitor, including personal travel counseling, informational materials, transportation maps, and lodging reservation assistance. In addition, the welcome center program serves Virginia’s tourism industry by promoting a variety of destinations and attractions through advertising opportunities, product demonstrations and exhibits, and the distribution of travel publications.

Tourism Planning: VTA provides communities and tourism entrepreneurs with tourism planning expertise and support. It assists with strategic planning, product planning, and identifying funding resources (including grant opportunities and other options for stretching limited resources) to develop and market the Commonwealth’s tourism product.

Partnership Marketing: VTA has developed a comprehensive state tourism plan, which provides a thorough assessment of the tourism needs in each of Virginia’s tourism regions. This plan provides a competitive analysis of the state, including recommendations on increasing visitation through focused product development, promotions, improvements to infrastructure, and policies at the state and local level to support tourism economic development. VTA will be updating the plan this biennium.

Tourism Development Financing: VTA helps to administer and promote a financing program for qualified tourism-related development projects (the Tourism Development Financing Program). This program provides gap financing to compensate for a shortfall in project funding in partnership with developers, localities, and financial institutions.

he Virginia Tourism Authority updated some performance measures and refocused goals on recovery from the negative economic impacts on the tourism industry in Virginia due to the pandemic. The Authority removed all measures related to the 2019 Commemorations, American Evolution, as all related events and activities have been completed.

In addition, the Authority added measures related to increased content manufacturing in Virginia, this includes both total Virginia spend (total Virginia Spend of $150,641,585 for Governor’s Motion Picture Opportunity Fund projects in FY 2022) and number of Virginia hires (total Virginia hires of 4,002 for Governor’s Motion Picture Opportunity Fund projects in FY 2022) through content manufacturing projects. This information is critical in measuring the growth of content manufacturing in Virginia.

Increase and strengthen the awareness of Virginia as a travel destination. Promote Virginia’s abundance as a strategic advantage and a differentiator. VTC currently provides paid advertising in 14 markets. Virginia has a very strong asset in the Virginia is for Lovers slogan and logo. It is in a league of its own in terms of awareness and positive reaction. No other competitor has this type of brand equity.

Economy: Be a national leader in preserving and enhancing our economy.

Attract visitors and motion picture production to the Commonwealth, resulting in greater economic impact generated by the tourism and motion picture industries.

Increase in-state film, television, video, multimedia, and digital production.

• Promote Virginia as a superior place to film because of the versatile palette of available film locations, tech-savvy talent, businesses, and academic institutions, outstanding support by state and local government, experienced crew, and exceptional customer service.

• Work with local filmmakers, production companies, educational institutions, and other media-related organizations to promote the growth of Virginia’s in-state film industry.

• Conduct one-on-one meetings with prospects.

• Provide optimum incentive packages to recruit projects.

• Administer a workforce development program designed to increase the number of workers involved in content manufacturing in Virginia.

• Exploit the current disruption in technology as it relates to the creation and consumption of new media content. Recognize the intersection of technology, social media, brand promotion, and storytelling in support of academia, high-wage workforce development, and economic development opportunities statewide.

Develop and share tourism/hospitality industry research with all industry and community partners leading to increased fact based decision making.

• Build VTC Research as a data hub within Virginia's hospitality industry through partner and hospitality industry outreach and data democratization.

• Conduct micro-audience study in collaboration with media agency to enable localized campaign and targeting tactics.

• Complete comprehensive analyses around marketing audiences; meeting & conventions; short-term rentals; and workforce.

Maximize efforts to accelerate the demand for inbound visitors, thus creating awareness of Virginia's tourism product and bringing more leisure travelers to the Commonwealth. Increase the effectiveness of website marketing to bring visitors to Virginia, thus growing the economic and tax bases of the Commonwealth.

• Maintain high consumer awareness by targeting high value micro audiences

• Equip Virginia's tourism industry with competitive, cost effective Co-op.

• Conduct and communicate findings of meeting & convention study and generate partner leads in group sales and sports to accelerate room-night growth.

• Secure Global co-branded partnerships to boost international visitation, matching or surpassing 20198 visitation levels.

• Set new records in Welcome Center visitation and partnership marketing and advertising program revenues.

Assist tourism businesses and localities to grow their indigenous tourism and motion picture production businesses through research assistance, community planning and development, marketing leveraging grants, and one-on-one assistance.

• Grow Tourism Improvement Districts, especially in Commonwealth's Largest Markets.

• Accelerate Tourism Development Fund Program (TDFP) growth to increase Hotel room capacity

• Award more than 300 grants annually, leveraging more than $3.5M into $15M by working with more than 1,000 partners.

• Provide the industry with tourism planning assistance, research trends, marketing recommendations, and vision planning guidance to help with marketing decisions and ultimately produce more customers for their businesses.

• Wok with industry stakeholders to improve the value perception of the travel economy.

• Identify Opportunities and funding for High Impact development projects & regions.

• Refresh state tourism plan and DRIVE workshops towards goal of accelerating visitor demand and traveler expenditures.

• Enhance the value proposition and services offered to Virginia's certified Tourist information Centers to maintain and grow participation.

Attract visitors and motion picture production to the Commonwealth, resulting in more jobs supported by the tourism and motion picture production industries.

Increase in-state film, television, video, multimedia, and digital production.

• Promote Virginia as a superior place to film because of the versatile palette of available film locations, tech-savvy talent, businesses, and academic institutions, outstanding support by state and local government, experienced crew, and exceptional customer service.

• Work with local filmmakers, production companies, educational institutions, and other media-related organizations to promote the growth of Virginia’s in-state film industry.

• Conduct one-on-one meetings with prospects.

• Provide optimum incentive packages to recruit projects.

• Administer a workforce development program designed to increase the number of workers involved in content manufacturing in Virginia.

• Exploit the current disruption in technology as it relates to the creation and consumption of new media content. Recognize the intersection of technology, social media, brand promotion, and storytelling in support of academia, high-wage workforce development, and economic development opportunities statewide.

Assist tourism businesses and localities to grow their indigenous tourism and motion picture production businesses through research assistance, community planning and development, marketing leveraging grants, and one-on-one assistance.

• Grow Tourism Improvement Districts, especially in Commonwealth's Largest Markets.

• Accelerate Tourism Development Fund Program (TDFP) growth to increase Hotel room capacity

• Award more than 300 grants annually, leveraging more than $3.5M into $15M by working with more than 1,000 partners.

• Provide the industry with tourism planning assistance, research trends, marketing recommendations, and vision planning guidance to help with marketing decisions and ultimately produce more customers for their businesses.

• Wok with industry stakeholders to improve the value perception of the travel economy.

• Identify Opportunities and funding for High Impact development projects & regions.

• Refresh state tourism plan and DRIVE workshops towards goal of accelerating visitor demand and traveler expenditures.

• Enhance the value proposition and services offered to Virginia's certified Tourist information Centers to maintain and grow participation.

Attract visitors and motion picture production to the Commonwealth, resulting in greater tax revenues generated by the tourism and motion picture industries.

Increase in-state film, television, video, multimedia, and digital production.

• Promote Virginia as a superior place to film because of the versatile palette of available film locations, tech-savvy talent, businesses, and academic institutions, outstanding support by state and local government, experienced crew, and exceptional customer service.

• Work with local filmmakers, production companies, educational institutions, and other media-related organizations to promote the growth of Virginia’s in-state film industry.

• Conduct one-on-one meetings with prospects.

• Provide optimum incentive packages to recruit projects.

• Administer a workforce development program designed to increase the number of workers involved in content manufacturing in Virginia.

• Exploit the current disruption in technology as it relates to the creation and consumption of new media content. Recognize the intersection of technology, social media, brand promotion, and storytelling in support of academia, high-wage workforce development, and economic development opportunities statewide.

Assist tourism businesses and localities to grow their indigenous tourism and motion picture production businesses through research assistance, community planning and development, marketing leveraging grants, and one-on-one assistance.

• Grow Tourism Improvement Districts, especially in Commonwealth's Largest Markets.

• Accelerate Tourism Development Fund Program (TDFP) growth to increase Hotel room capacity

• Award more than 300 grants annually, leveraging more than $3.5M into $15M by working with more than 1,000 partners.

• Provide the industry with tourism planning assistance, research trends, marketing recommendations, and vision planning guidance to help with marketing decisions and ultimately produce more customers for their businesses.

• Wok with industry stakeholders to improve the value perception of the travel economy.

• Identify Opportunities and funding for High Impact development projects & regions.

• Refresh state tourism plan and DRIVE workshops towards goal of accelerating visitor demand and traveler expenditures.

• Enhance the value proposition and services offered to Virginia's certified Tourist information Centers to maintain and grow participation.

Support the enhancement, expansion, and development of new and existing tourism products, events, and services. Strengthen and increase partnerships each year that benefit the tourism industry. Access new funding and leverage advertising, marketing, and public relations resources by partnering with tourism organizations, other nonprofit entities, private industry, and government.

Foster strong working relationships with elected officials and key opinion leaders to gain support and growth for Virginia’s tourism industry.

VTA’s marketing activities include a number of domestic and international programs aimed at promoting Virginia as a premier travel destination, including brand management, creative services, national and international media relations, domestic sales, international trade and sales, promotions, digital marketing, merchandising, and research.

The visitor services program develops overall strategies for sound customer and visitor relations and information distribution systems. It manages activities aimed at providing superior customer service, evaluating and improving customer fulfillment functions, and increasing community outreach. VTA works cooperatively with the Virginia Department of Transportation in the operations of the state’s Welcome Centers to promote and encourage traveler visitation to Virginia.

The partnership marketing program works closely with communities throughout Virginia through tourism development and grant programs. It provides communities and tourism entrepreneurs with tourism planning expertise and support. It also assists with strategic planning, product planning, and identifying funding resources to achieve the planning goals and grow the Commonwealth’s tourism product. In addition, the program is a resource for the industry to seek and secure grants to supplement marketing and product development programs. The Authority works closely with Virginia’s localities and attractions to identify grant opportunities and options for stretching limited resources to market the Commonwealth’s tourism product.

The Virginia Film Office is committed to attracting film and video production to Virginia and supporting the indigenous production industry, with the ultimate goal of bringing economic and employment benefits to the Commonwealth. Film, video, and multi-media production is a growth industry worldwide, and the potential economic benefits to the state have increased significantly. The Virginia Film Office pursues its goals through the creation and implementation of innovative marketing and development programs, and by delivering exceptional customer service to inspire repeat business.

This service area directly aligns with the Virginia Tourism Authority's mission of promoting and developing the tourism and motion picture industries to stimulate Virginia's economy and enhance the quality of life of all Virginians.

§ 2.2-2315 et seq., Code of Virginia (Virginia Tourism Authority)

§ 58.1-3851.1, Code of Virginia (Entitlement to tax revenues from tourism project)

§ 58.1-3851.2, Code of Virginia (Entitlement to tax revenues from tourism project of regional significance)

In FY 2023 the Virginia Tourism Authority will operate with a general fund budget of $27 million. These funds support the marketing, visitor services, Virginia Film Office, partnership marketing, and minimal administrative support functions. The Authority aggressively leverages funding and forms partnerships with industry and government entities to extend the reach of its limited budget.

The Virginia Tourism Authority is not on the books of the State Comptroller, so the only funds reflected are general fund appropriations. However, the Authority does receive about $1.3 million annually from the Virginia Department of Transportation (about $1.2 million for the operation of the state's 12 Welcome Centers and $125,000 as a pass-through for the Danville Welcome Center, which is locally operated). These funds, however, are not sufficient to fully fund the Welcome Centers' operations, which total over $2.6 million annually.