What a summer it’s been for tourism in Alexandria.
With tourism boosted by America’s 250th birthday celebration and Alexandria’s participation in a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” hosting a World Cup team, Visit Alexandria CEO Todd O’Leary and staff reported to City Council on Tuesday night (Sept. 8) that hotel stays are up, revenue per available room is up and so is the percentage of visitors staying overnight.
It’s been a busy summer so far for Visit Alexandria.
Fresh off the heels of Croatia’s national soccer team using the city as a base camp during the World Cup, America’s 250th celebration and the city’s birthday, Visit Alexandria’s CEO Todd O’Leary expects a sleepy August, followed by a busy fall full of parades, art festivals and holiday events.
Alexandria’s ranking isn’t as high as last year on Travel + Leisure’s annual “Best Cities in the U.S.” list, but it has remained in the top 10.
Travel + Leisure announced the winners of the 2026 World’s Best Awards yesterday (July 7). Winners were determined by feedback from about 207,000 readers around the world.
Alexandria is vying for its ninth consecutive ranking in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2026 Readers’ Choice Awards. The city is nominated in the “Cities” category and hopes to retain its place among the “Best Small Cities in the U.S.”
Visit Alexandria, the city’s tourism organization, is asking for public support to keep Alexandria on the list. High-profile rankings in Condé Nast Traveler and other publications are one of the organization’s strategies to boost visitor-related tax revenues that fund core city services.
An Alexandria-based food tour company is celebrating two years of teaching people about the local Korean culinary scene.
Alexandria resident Soomin “Mina” Kim spends her weekdays immersed in the world of law as a paralegal in Old Town. But her weekends are reserved for Annandale in Fairfax County, where she guides culinary Koreatown adventures for her small business, Virginialicious.
Visit Alexandria‘s newest marketing campaign is tapping into the stories behind businesses, tourist attractions and unique personalities.
From now until June, the Unlock Your Story campaign will tell stories all over Alexandria, focusing on the city’s history, small attractions, and unique small businesses, artists and entrepreneurs. The promotion follows Visit Alexandria’s Best Kept Shh! campaign, which launched three years ago and positioned Alexandria as the region’s best kept secret.
Three Alexandria museums are participating in a new Virginia tourism campaign to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary next year.
The new program, called the Virginia 250 Passport, includes Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, the Alexandria Black History Museum and the Alexandria History Museum at The Lyceum as part of a “passport” sweepstakes. The program encourages residents to visit various museums and historic sites throughout the commonwealth.
Alexandria’s tourism impact, economic trends, upcoming business openings and more will be unveiled later this month in Visit Alexandria‘s annual meeting.
Alexandria’s tourism bureau will hold its annual meeting at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center (5000 Seminary Road) from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 25. Tickets cost $40 for Visit Alexandria members and $95 for non-members.
There are only four days left to choose Alexandria in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards survey.
Alexandria has been consistently ranked as one of the top five small cities in the country for the past six years. Last year, the city got third place nationwide. The voting deadline is Monday, June 30.
Running along the Alexandria waterfront with the Tall Ship Providence in the background (staff photo by James Cullum)[/caption]
Alexandria is welcoming a wave of new developments across the city, from waterfront dining to boutique retail and major upcoming events that promise to draw visitors from around the world.
Claire Mouledoux, Visit Alexandria's senior vice president of marketing and communications, presented the city's latest attractions during the "What's New 2025" event at Virginia Tech Innovation Campus in Potomac Yard on Tuesday.
Get your walking shoes on, because the Alexandria City Council voted Saturday to shut down the 200 block of King Street this holiday season, as well as next spring and summer.
The unanimous vote was made without discussion, and the closure will happen in two phases. The 200 block will first close from Nov. 22 to Jan. 6, and the second phase is from March 14 to Sept. 30.
