City of Alexandria Marketing Fund Awards Grant

(Monday) July 26, 2010

For the second year, Barton & Barton Travel Consultants of Alexandria has received a matching grant from the City of Alexandria Marketing Fund to promote the city and its many attractions to international visitors. The focus of the project is to market the city at World Travel Market in London in November.   World Travel Market attracts more than 45,000 tour operators, travel agents, travel writers and other industry personnel annually to the Excel Centre in London.

“Despite the challenging economies in Europe and other countries, international visitors are still coming to Virginia and Washington D.C.,” said Barbara Barton, a member of the B & B team. “We want to make sure Alexandria and its hospitality industry get their share of this market,” she added. “Also, it’s important to note that Alexandria was the only destination from Virginia, Washington or Maryland exhibiting at the show last year and it probably will be the same this year – this gives us an advantage over nearby jurisdictions,” Barton said.

The Barton & Barton team’s successful grant application again received the endorsement of the Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association. The City of Alexandria will exhibit in the Discover America pavilion at the World Travel Market; this large pavilion showcases destinations and travel businesses from all over the USA.

City hotels, restaurants, attractions and, this year, George Washington’s Mount Vernon will be participating in the marketing campaign and providing the matching funds for the project.  Last year nearly 40 members of Alexandria’s hospitality industry contributed to the project. Centerpieces of the exhibit in 2009 were life size cutouts of President and First Lady Obama; this proved to be a popular means of attracting travel professionals to the exhibit. This year the team will take a cutout of President George Washington. Such displays have been an effective method of inviting clients to the exhibit and ensuring that they stay long enough to establish a conversation and subsequent interest in doing business in Alexandria.

Members of the marketing team along with Barbara Barton (former Executive Director of the Alexandria Convention & Visitors Bureau) are Hugh Barton, former Executive Director of the Arlington Convention and Visitors Service; Lynn Bostain, former Manager of both the Washington, DC Virginia Visitors Center and the Meetings Marketing program for the Virginia Tourism Corporation, and now Business Services Manager with the Dulles Area Transportation Association; and Kelly Woodward, Owner and Founder of Added  Dimension,  a marketing communications firm, and  Director of Sales & Marketing with the Dulles Area Transportation  Association.

Alexandria businesses interested in attracting the international visitor are invited to participate; further information concerning the campaign and details of participation are available by contacting hugh.barton@comcast.net, or by calling him at 703-370-3868.