Visit Alexandria CEO announces retirement

Visit Alexandria President and CEO Patricia Washington will retire at the end of June 2024, the tourism organization announced Friday.

Washington has led Visit Alexandria since 2012. She led two rebranding efforts and four brand campaigns and helped Alexandria become a national tourism destination, according to a news release announcing her retirement. The City of Alexandria’s sales, meals and lodging tax receipts have grown from $55 million to $80 million per year during her tenure.

She serves on the boards of the Alexandria Arts Alliance and Heard, a nonprofit providing arts services to underserved children and adults. She also held leadership roles on the U.S. Travel Association’s Destinations Council advisory board and the Northern Virginia Tourism Partnership.

“It’s been such a privilege to lead Visit Alexandria’s vision, culture and content-first marketing strategy for more than 11 years, and this feels like the right time for my retirement both organizationally and personally,” Washington said in a statement. “Visit Alexandria is in excellent shape, with a high-performing staff, strong partnerships, clear plans, stable finances and growing tourism revenues. On a personal level, I’m hoping to do some more extensive travel and have more time to pursue interests at a point in life where I have the passion and energy to fully explore them.”

Her announcement comes on the heels of an announcement of plans to move the NHL’s Washington Capitals and the NBA’s Washington Wizards from Washington, D.C., to Alexandria as part of a $2 billion deal to develop an entertainment district near Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus.

“This is a game-changing opportunity for the City of Alexandria and for Visit Alexandria’s next leader,” Washington said.“I will be working diligently over the next six months to lay the groundwork for the city to maximize the potential benefit and to ensure a smooth transition to my successor.”

The city will search for a new president and CEO with a search task force chaired by Visit Alexandria’s Vice Chair Denise Jackson. The task force has engaged SearchWide Global to assist.