Visit Alexandria to get nearly $1 million for marketing from Virginia Tourism Corporation

Published May 11, 2022 at 1:00PM

A tour guide tells a story on a hot July day in front of the Carlyle House at 121 N. Fairfax Street in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria City Council, on Tuesday night, unanimously approved Visit Alexandria’s grant application request to secure nearly $1 million in federal tourism recovery aid.

Virginia Tourism Corporation received $50 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds last October, and $990,000 has been set aside for marketing to improve the city’s hospitality sector.

The funds will be spent over the course of the next two fiscal years (FY 2023 and FY 2024), since the city’s ARPA allocation to Visit Alexandria will dry up when the current fiscal year wraps up at the end of June.

The pandemic hit the city’s tourism industry hard, and it’s estimated that a full recovery for hotels and business travel is several years away.

“This will provide critical support to our small business sector and will help support increases to the City’s consumption tax revenues (lodging, meals and sales) by way of tourism marketing,” City staff reported to Council.

About the Author

James Cullum

Reporter James Cullum has spent nearly 20 years covering Northern Virginia. He began working with ALXnow in 2020, and has covered every story under the sun for the publication, from investigative stories to features and photo galleries. His work includes coverage of national and international situations, as well as from the White House, Capitol, Pentagon, Supreme Court and State Department. He's covered protests and riots throughout the U.S. (including the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol), in addition to earthquake-ridden Haiti, Western Sahara in North Africa and war-torn South Sudan. He has photographed presidents and other world leaders, celebrities and famous musicians, and excels under pressure.