Visit Virginia's Blue Ridge Progress Report - Always Moving Forward

Message from the Chair & President

Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge is “Always Moving Forward” as we strive to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic and historically high inflation that has affected the performance of the United States economy overall. The lodging and restaurant industries struggled to rebuild workforces for their operations, and were forced to pay significantly higher wages in order to keep their businesses open. Despite these national negative trends, Virginia’s Blue Ridge travel and tourism economy experienced significant recovery during 2022.

Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge is grateful for the tremendous support from our “participating localities” who provided ARPA funding, as well as the Virginia Tourism Corporation, which provided much-needed grants during 2022. These funds collectively bridged the “funding gap” that was normally filled by transient occupancy tax revenues and allowed for a quicker recovery of the Virginia’s Blue Ridge travel and tourism industry.

We believe that our Virginia’s Blue Ridge industry is poised to succeed in 2023 and 2024, and we are “Always Moving Forward” towards greater prosperity for our 8,000 industry employees, 1,500+ private industry partners, as well as the Cities of Roanoke and Salem, and Counties of Botetourt, Franklin, and Roanoke.

W. Lee Wilhelm, III Landon C. Howard Chair President

The pyramid represents how the VBR brand is presented with the flag staking the claim at the top, but recognizing an incredible number and depth of all VBR offerings.

TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX COLLECTIONS:

Travel Expenditures Impact Local Economy

A New Foundation for Measuring Our Recovery:

as we recover from the pandemic

DIRECT SPENDING INDIRECT & INDUCED

Definitions:

Direct Impacts: economic value created by visitors at the point of transaction in key travel sectors

Indirect Impacts: additional economic value created as goods and services are purchased as inputs in key travel sectors

Induced Impacts: additional value created from wage income (direct or indirect) from spending in key travel sectors

Direct Spending by Category:

5,050

44,519,647 REACH

ENGAGEMENT 48% INCREASE ENGAGEMENT

Holiday Events, Light Displays, Decorations:

82,000+ PAGE VIEWS to pages featuring seasonal holiday information about events, light displays, and decorations

Fall Festivals & Colors:

170,000+ PAGE VIEWS for website content about fall festivals and the best times & places to see fall colors in VBR

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Booker T. Washington:

20,000+ PAGE VIEWS

generated from a new blog post as part of VBR’s celebration of Black History Month

Most Viewed Pages on VisitVBR:

1. Calendar of Events

298,474 PAGE VIEWS

72% INCREASE

2. Homepage

108,782 PAGE VIEWS

10% INCREASE

Twin River Outfitters

Video Campaign:

227,000+ VIDEO VIEWS generated when VBR partnered with Twin River Outfitters to feature a video about the Upper James River Water Trail with an ad campaign

Special Website Landing Pages for Regional

Sporting Events: including CIAA Football Championship, USA Cycling Amateur Road National Championships, & Carilion Clinic

IRONMAN 70.3 Virginia’s Blue Ridge

3. Things to Do

73,334 PAGE VIEWS

54% INCREASE

4. Map of VBR

64,555 PAGE VIEWS

52% INCREASE

5. McAfee Knob

58,492 PAGE VIEWS

25% INCREASE

Public Relations continued to put Virginia’s Blue Ridge on the map while raising its profile as a must-visit destination. State and national travel publications lauded the region’s outdoor amenities, culinary offerings and diverse arts and culture scene, while also making a nod to its rich history.

Travel media put a positive spotlight on Virginia’s Blue Ridge as seen by features in Northern Virginia Magazine, United Airlines Hemispheres magazine, Richmond Magazine, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and more.

Roanoke River Gorge courtesy of Sam Dean Photography

KEY EVENTS:

Flex & Flow Blue Ridge Marathon Race-Cation APRIL 2022

Tennessee Tribune JUNE 2022

In August 2021, PR hosted ~40 female fitness influencers in Botetourt County and Virginia’s Blue Ridge for their annual summer camp. In April 2022, 7 of them returned to race in the Blue Ridge Marathon. Nearly half were from the DMV, a key feeder market for VBR. Influencers shared dozens of Instagram stories, posts, and even a blog, summarizing and detailing their Blue Ridge Race-cation.

“Dirty Dancing”

International Group Media Tour AUGUST 2022

Hosted travel writer Renuka Christoph in October 2022 on assignment for the Tennessee Tribune (one the country’s largest African American newspapers). She produced a travel piece that positioned the Virginia’s Blue Ridge as a richly diverse region with a robust culinary scene.

MATPRA Media Marketplace 2022 OCTOBER 2022

Visit VBR’s PR team worked with Virginia Tourism Corporation’s international PR office to host travel writers from India, Japan, Australia and Germany. Media extended their stays beyond Mountain Lake Lodge’s ‘Dirty Dancing Weekend’ and explored Roanoke, Franklin County and other areas of Virginia’s Blue Ridge.

Media Marketplace 2022 in State College, PA

Met and pitched ~20 travel writers at Mid-Atlantic Tourism Public Relations Alliance Media Marketplace in State College, PA. MATPRA Media Marketplace will be hosted in Virginia’s Blue Ridge in August 2024, meaning the region could see up to 70 travel media in a single week!

Dr. NL Bishop and Charles & Anita Price met with travel writer Renuka Christoph to share stories of Roanoke’s Black community and the new Hidden in Plain Site project.

Blue Ridge Institute & Farm Museum in Ferrum, VA

COMMUNITY RELATIONS

Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge is dedicated to promoting this region as a destination to visitors. Our 1,500+ Partners that make up our story of who we are and why people want to experience what we offer is what sets us apart. While dealing with the constant uncertainty of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge still had many new businesses open and become a partner of ours. It’s because of the support from our tourism partners, and many thanks to the investment from our local governments (Cities of Roanoke and Salem, as well as the Counties of Roanoke, Botetourt & Franklin), Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge is able to offer FREE partnership for tourism-related businesses located within those local governments. We also represent businesses within an hour radius of Downtown Roanoke through annual memberships. Visit VBR Partners are essential because each year, they increase our knowledge, expertise, and resources available in this region, to then be able to reach a greater audience in attracting future visitors.

1,521 PARTNERS IN 2022

Annual Meeting:

65 NEW PARTNERS

VBR TWENTY24 athletes demonstrate the world of online cycling with Zwift

Engagement with VBR partners

Lee Wilhelm presenting Joyce Waugh with VBR’s 2022 Tourism Ambassador Award

Keynote speaker Olympic gold medalist, Kristin Armstrong

New & Notable in 2022:

The Liberty Trust Hotel: Roanoke City

Living Proof Beer Company: Rocky Mount · Franklin County

Norvel Lee Highway Marker: Botetourt County

McAfee Knob Trail Shuttle: Roanoke County

The Dilly Dally: City of Salem

Ursula’s Café: Downtown Roanoke

Virginia’s Blue Ridge (VBR Sports) continued to showcase the region’s rich sports background by hosting 55 events in 2022. These events generated an estimated 51,535 attendees with a vast majority of those categorized as visitors from out of town.

Efforts to grow the region’s non-traditional sports segment was highlighted by hosting the 2022 USA Cycling Amateur Road National Championship in June. The event featured four days of racing taking place in Botetourt County and the City of Roanoke. This premier cycling event added to the strength of existing signature endurance sports in the region, including the Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon, Carilion Clinic IRONMAN

70.3 Virginia’s Blue Ridge, Virginia’s Blue Ridge Go Cross and the LewisGale Salem Half Marathon.

Regional collaboration delivered a diverse portfolio of traditional sports tourism opportunities for 2022. The cities of Salem & Roanoke, along with the counties of Roanoke, Botetourt and Franklin, continue to be a strength in numbers approach when it comes to hosting National, State, and Conference Championships. There was no shortage of high caliber championship events including: NCAA DIII National Championships, CIAA Conference Championships, ODAC Conference Championships, Mountain East Conference Championships, and VHSL State Championships.

Overall, 2022 proved that our collective sports marketing initiatives are working. Sports related travel spending is a vital for our region, which impact local retail, food & beverage, lodging and tax collections.

55 EVENTS BOOKED

51,000+ EVENT PARTICIPANTS

35,000+ TOTAL ROOM NIGHTS

CIAA Volleyball Conference Championship in the City of Salem at the Salem Civic Center

NCAA Women’s DIII Lacrosse National Championship at Kerr Stadium at Roanoke College

2022 CIAA Women’s Bowling Championship hosted by Lee-Hi Lanes in the City of Salem

USA Men’s Class D&E Eastern Slow-Pitch Championship at Moyer and Botetourt Sports Complex

“Since our relocation, Visit VBR and their destination partners (cities of Roanoke and Salem, as well as the counties of Roanoke, Botetourt, and Franklin) have embraced our team. Our mission aligns well with the regional efforts to pursue events that are diverse in nature and support female athletes. The breathtaking and challenging terrain provides everything an athlete needs to be the best.. ”

NICOLA CRANMER, Founder & General Manager of UCI VIRGINIA’S BLUE RIDGE TWENTY24 WOMEN’S PRO CYCLING TEAM.

SALES & Meetings

Virginia’s Blue Ridge experienced a strong rebound of in-person meetings for 2022. Meeting planners were excited and ready to return to face-to-face interactions for their conventions, conferences and meetings. Visit VBR continued to support this important segment of visitation with incentives, services and other resources planners needed to return to our region.

Overall, this segment grew from 15 bookings in 2021 to 39 bookings in 2022. Total room nights increased from almost 7,000 to over 13,000

Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge continued to focus on recruiting corporate, association and SMERF markets. 2022 provided us a platform to learn the subtle changes in the meetings world post Covid.

RECRUITMENT EFFORTS:

Rendezvous South with Convention South Magazine BRANSON, MO MAY 2022

VSAE Fall Conference & Expo RICHMOND, VA OCTOBER 2022

2022 MEETINGS:

39 MEETINGS BOOKED

7,100+ PARTICIPANTS

VA Association of Counties Meeting

Virginia Biological Farming 22nd Annual Conference

American Society for Neurochemistry Annual Meeting

Virginia Biotechnology Association THRiVE Conference

Virginia Society of Association Executives

Board Retreat

Virginia Business Educators Association

Summer Conference

Annual Educational Conference for VAMPI

Virginia Association of Zoning Officials Conference

Judicial Conference of Virginia for District Courts

Appalachian Health Summit/VCE

13,000+ TOTAL ROOM NIGHTS

Southern Business Education Association

Virginia Chapter Conference

Virginia Department of Corrections

Training Conference

ANNUAL REPORT

PURPOSE OF THE FOUNDATION:

A. To leverage and develop the Virginia’s Blue Ridge region’s recreation-related and outdoor assets to encourage healthy, active engagement through recreation.

B. To strengthen the community narrative centered on recreation and the outdoors.

C. To develop physical amenities as well as festivals and event offerings that enhance quality-of-life for residents and visitors alike.

D. To contribute to the economic development of the Virginia’s Blue Ridge region.

2022 Projects Supported by the Foundation:

Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge Foundation Trustees

W. Lee Wilhelm, III

McNeil Roofing, Inc. President

Richard L. Cayood, P.E.

County of Roanoke

Vice Chair

Mark S. Lucas

Mill Mountain Technologies Vice Chair

Shirley B. Holland

Carilion Clinic Secretary

Douglas Blount

County of Roanoke Treasurer

Barton J. Wilner

Entre Computer Center

James E. Taliaferro, II City of Salem

Robert S. Cowell, Jr.

City of Roanoke

Gary Larrowe

County of Botetourt

Established November 15, 2016

Christopher L. Whitlow

County of Franklin

Bob Rotanz

Mac and Bob’s Restaurant

Ssunny Shah

Baymont Inn & Suites Salem

Susan E. Short, Ph.D.

Virginia Tech

Administration

Landon C. Howard

Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge

Roanoke Arts Pop! at the Taubman Museum of Art

Downtown Roanoke Ambassador Program Photo courtesy of Jenny Marie, Downtown Roanoke, Inc.

Board of Directors: VISIT VBR Team

W. Lee Wilhelm, III

McNeil Roofing, Inc. Chair

Richard L. Caywood, P.E. County of Roanoke Vice Chair

Dave Andersen

Dominion Lodging (7/2016-6/2022)

Ryan Bell The Academy

Kimberly Blair Roanoke College

Lynne Pearo Boone ABoone Homes, LLC

John Carlin

WSLS-TV 10 (NBC)

Robert S. Cowell, Jr. City of Roanoke

Elda Stanco Downey

Appointed by the City of Roanoke (7/2021-2/2022)

Whit Ellerman Cardinal Bicycle

Shirley

Holland

Dawn Tanner Erdman

Appointed by the City of Roanoke

William Farrell Berglund Automotive Group

Lisa D. Garst Salem

Michael Hamlar

Hamlar-Curtis Funeral Home

Catherine Jackson

Gentry Locke Attorneys

Ken Lanford

Lanford Brothers Company, Inc.

Gary Larrowe County of Botetourt

Stephen Lemon

Martin, Hopkins & Lemon, P.C.

Appointed by the City of Roanoke

Annette Lewis

TAP - Total Action for Progress

Peter Lewis

Apple Ridge Farm

Sam Lionberger

Lionberger Construction Company

Michael Maxey

Former President of Roanoke College

Jim McAden

Former President of Balzer and Associates, Inc.

Ann Blair Miller Roanoke Regional Partnership

Kirtesh Patel

TRU by Hilton

Anita Price

Appointed by the City of Roanoke

Malcolm Quigley

Appointed by the City of Roanoke

Ken Randolph Rockydale Quarries Corporation

David Robertson

Robertson Marketing

Bob Rotanz Mac and Bob’s Restaurant

Ssunny Shah

Baymont Inn & Suites Salem

John Shaner City of Salem Parks & Recreation

Susan E. Short, Ph.D. Virginia Tech

Eric Sichau

Roanoke Regional Chamber

James E. Taliaferro, II City of Salem

Lucas L. Thornton Hist:Re Partners, LLC (7/2017-6/2023)

David B. Trinkle, M.D. Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine

Joyce Waugh Roanoke Regional Chamber (5/2008 - 12/2022)

Christopher L. Whitlow County of Franklin

John B. Williamson, III RGC Resources, Inc.

STAFF:

Administration

Landon C. Howard President

Heidi R. Bowling

Director of Operations/Assistant to the President

Sales & Marketing

Debora Wright

Vice President of Sales & Marketing

David Aldridge

Director of Marketing

Kathryn Lucas

Director of Public Relations

John Oney Director of Sales

Shannon Terry Creative Design Senior Manager

Jennifer Hayward

Social Media & Content Manager

Sales & Marketing continued

Rachel Nunley

Sales & Marketing Project Manager

Rachael Baxley

Meeting Sales & Services Manager

Antonio Gonzalez

Sports & Sales Services Coordinator

Grace Needham

Public Relations Coordinator

Holly Marden Events Coordinator (part-time)

Community Relations / Visitor Services

Cheryl Morales Director of Community Relations

Visitor Information Center (part-time)

*

VISITOR SERVICES LEAD:

Jane Smith

Weekend Visitor Services Lead: Ahondryea Brooks

VISITOR SERVICES SPECIALISTS:

Marlene Efkeman

Debra Finney

Linda Franklin

Chris Kessler

Ray Keys

Wayne Sanburn

*Note: VBR Visitor Center is operated and staffed seven days a week

Mark S. Lucas Mill Mountain Technologies Vice Chair

B.

Carilion Clinic Secretary

Douglas Blount County of Roanoke Treasurer

Barton J. Wilner Entre Computer Center Past Chair