State’s Va-1 Tourism Summit expected to draw 500 people

Virginia’s largest educational conference on tourism gets underway in less than a week. About 500 people are expected to attend the VA-1 Tourism Summit at the downtown Richmond Marriott, which begins on Sunday, Nov. 15, and continues through Tuesday, Nov. 17.

“There’s networking and idea sharing for two days, and it’s where you will meet vendors, people in the industry and hear new breaking news on trends,” says Rita D. McClenny, president and CEO of the Virginia Tourism Corp.

Virginia’s tourism industry is growing.  At the end of 2014, it was one of the state’s five largest industries, generating $22.4 billion in travel spending and supporting 216,900 jobs.

During the opening general session on Monday, Nov. 16, at 11:45 a.m.,  Lt. Governor Ralph S. Northam will serve as the keynote speaker.  Another featured speaker,
Gray Lawry, director of Media & Analytics (Miles), based out of Sarasota, Fla., will lead a session at 2:30 p.m. on “Video: The future of marketing.”

On the following day,  “People will see our new creative ideas and where we’re going,” McClenny says, when the state unveils its latest tourism marketing plan on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 1:30 p.m.

There also will be sessions on Website trends and practices, blogger collaborations and the use of mobile apps to tap fans of craft breweries.  A full schedule of the program can be found at http://va1tourismsummit.org.

Serving as conference sponsors are the Virginia Tourism Corp., the Virginia Hospitality & Travel Association, and the Virginia Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus.