Virginia Governor Mark Warner’s Executive Order 6 Nears 200 Meetings, Approaching $35 Million Mark In Economic Impact
Governor Mark Warner has announced that his Executive Order 6, designed to encourage state agencies to aggressively attract meetings business to the state, has resulted in close to 200 meeting bookings with an estimated economic impact of $35 million.
(PRWEB) July 13, 2005 -- Governor Mark Warner has announced that his
Executive Order 6, designed to encourage state agencies to aggressively attract
meetings business to the state, has resulted in close to 200 meeting bookings
with an estimated economic impact of $35 million. Governor Warner made his
comments at a special Virginia Beach event celebrating the dual
milestones.
“Tourism employs more than 264,000 Virginians, and this
commonsense directive has, in effect, enlisted the help of the entire state
workforce to the efforts of the Virginia Tourism Corporation to attract
conventions and meetings,” Governor Warner said. “It is important that state
employees pursue professional growth and share ideas through membership in
national and regional organizations, and it just makes sense to ask these
employees to be aggressive in urging their associations to meet in
Virginia.”
Executive Order 6 was launched in January, 2002, shortly after
Warner took office. The initiative is based on a statewide mandate to all state
agencies, boards and commissions to recruit national and regional conferences to
Virginia.
The Virginia Tourism Corporation is charged with spearheading
and coordinating this effort. Among the meetings and conventions that have been
confirmed since Executive Order Six was issued are:
* 2004 Southern
Governor’s Association Annual Meeting, 13 governors and 500 delegates,
Richmond;
* International Watchable Wildlife Conference, 450 delegates,
Virginia Beach;
* Travel South Destination Showcase, 600 delegates,
Richmond;
* Society for Historical Archeology 2007 Annual Meeting, 800
delegates, Williamsburg;
* Outdoor Writers Association of America 2007
meeting, 600 delegates, Roanoke
“We are gratified with the governor’s
personal involvement in recruiting this large economic sector to the state,”
said Alisa Bailey, President and CEO of VTC. “The $35 million impact is very
significant to our overall efforts to grow tourism in Virginia.”
Tourism
is a $14 billion industry in Virginia, providing $1.9 billion in state and local
taxes. Meetings and conventions alone contribute $800 million annually to the
state’s economy, Bailey said.
“With the recent openings of the Richmond
and Hampton Convention Centers as well as the planned openings of convention and
meeting facilities in Virginia Beach, Wytheviille and Suffolk, the meetings
industry in Virginia is poised for outstanding growth,” Warner said. “These
projects alone represent an increase in the state’s meeting capacity of more
than 40,000 conventioneers. This growth, along with the expected interest that
will be generated in holding meetings to coincide with the 2007 Jamestown
commemoration, combine to make it more important than ever to rededicate
ourselves to the goals outlined in Executive Order 6.”
For more
information on Virginia meetings and conventions, visit www.virginia.org/meetings. Created and maintained by the
Virginia Tourism Corporation, this site provides information on Virginia
facilities, convention and visitor bureaus, accommodations and local and
regional contacts for meeting planners.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/7/prweb260711.htm