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Visit Alexandria Launches New Advertising Campaign, Announces Record Results at its Annual Meeting

A lively street scene with colorful historic buildings, outdoor seating with red umbrellas, green trees lining the sidewalk, and people dining and walking on a sunny day.
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$771 Million in Visitor Spending Generates $25.5 Million in Local Tax Receipts
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Alexandria, VA – Visit Alexandria announces the next evolution of its Extraordinary Alexandria brand through its new advertising campaign, “Alex and Andria,” with the tagline, “let’s get together.” At their annual meeting on September 19, 2016, the destination marketing organization unveiled the playful new campaign, which highlights the contrasts that make Alexandria unique while deeply reinforcing the brand name of the city.

“The campaign is driven by new market research reinforcing that Alexandria is a popular destination due to our walkability, proximity to D.C., history, dining and shopping options, and waterfront,” said Patricia Washington, president and CEO of Visit Alexandria. “The ads highlight these distinguishing assets that together attract people to our city again and again. The welcoming tagline, ‘let’s get together,’ conveys that Alexandria’s contrasts truly blend together, while reminding us why we travel in the first place—to connect with the people we love.”

In FY2017, Visit Alexandria will employ a blend of broadcast and digital marketing in outreach to five targeted metropolitan areas south of Alexandria—Richmond, Virginia; Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia; Charlottesville, Virginia; Roanoke, Virginia; and Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina—as well as the D.C. metropolitan area. The marketing strategy incorporates new media channels such as Instagram and TripAdvisor to ensure Visit Alexandria’s presence throughout the consumer’s entire vacation planning process, from inspiration to planning to their actual visit. Advertisements range from online video to digital banners and from native advertising to influencer-driven contests.

Reflecting on FY2016, Visit Alexandria shared that it had a banner year, noting record tourism revenues, local tax receipts, hotel occupancy, media coverage and web traffic for Alexandria. According to just-released figures from Virginia Tourism Corporation, $771 million in visitor spending produced $25.5 million in tax revenues for Alexandria. Travel also supported 6,340 jobs in Alexandria and saved each household more than $350 in taxes.

At its annual meeting, Visit Alexandria also reported the following FY2016 results:

  • 72.9% hotel occupancy (exceeding the national average of 65.5%)
  • $110 revenue per available room (highest ever)
  • 85,000 social media followers (+42%)
  • 1.88 million website visits to VisitAlexandriaVA.com (+22%)
  • 925 total press stories (+4%)

Visit Alexandria also shared results from an independent customer satisfaction study by Destination Analysts, one of the country’s leading tourism research firms, which found that visitors to Alexandria had an overall satisfaction rate of 99%, with four out of five giving it the highest possible rating. Compared with 12 other destinations, Alexandria had the highest customer satisfaction rate.

About Visit Alexandria

Visit Alexandria is the nonprofit tourism marketing organization for Alexandria, Virginia. Named a Top Romantic City, a Top Dog-Friendly City, and with a dramatic history featured on the PBS series MERCY STREET, Alexandria is a nationally renowned waterfront destination just five miles from Washington, D.C. Old Town Alexandria is the Shop Small headquarters of the region, with dozens of independently owned boutiques and restaurants tucked in to 18th– and 19th-century architecture still intact from the city’s days as George Washington’s hometown. New restaurants ignite historic and off-the-beaten-path neighborhoods as the waterfront district evolves with new energy. Alexandria hums with a cosmopolitan feel and a walkable lifestyle—a welcoming weekend escape next to our nation’s capital.

Connect with us!
Web:                   www.visitalexandriava.com
Blog:                   visitalexandria.com
Facebook:          www.facebook.com/VisitAlexandriaVA
Twitter:               www.twitter.com/alexandriava
Instagram:          www.instagram.com/VisitAlexVA
Hashtags:           #ExtraordinaryALX

Two dogs, one large and one small, sit side by side on a patio outside a restaurant. People are dining and talking in the background. The text promotes meeting venues in Alexandria, Virginia.
Collage of people dining outdoors, shopping, and walking dogs in vibrant, artsy urban scenes with the text: Part art deco. Part al fresco. All Del Ray. Extraordinary Alexandria. Website and travel info below.
A collage promoting Alexandria, Virginia, featuring images of drinks, people dining outdoors, a colonial reenactor, colorful historic buildings, and the text “Discover D.C.s Original Old Town. Extraordinary Alexandria.”.
Split image ad: Left—Alex looks at the Washington Monument from a boat. Right—Andria strolls with a man on a brick sidewalk. Text: “Alex likes a quick ride to D.C. Andria likes a slower pace. Extraordinary Alexandria.”.
Four smiling friends dine at a lively restaurant table, toasting drinks. The image is split: left shows Alex, who enjoys quiet dinners; right shows Andria, who prefers energetic outings. Text promotes visiting Alexandria, VA.
A split image shows two groups: on the left, friends take a selfie outdoors with “Alex likes to live in the moment.” On the right, a family enjoys a historical site with “Andria likes to visit the past.” Text promotes Alexandria, VA.
Split image: Left side shows two people by a sailboat with the text ALEX likes sails. Right side shows two people shopping with the text ANDRIA likes the other kind. Both promote Alexandria, Virginia as a destination.
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