The Virginia Tourism Corporation invites local businesses to the Tourism Help Desk, a free workshop with hands-on, one-on-one advice on marketing, research trends, customer service tips and other resources essential to tourism.

The workshop, hosted in partnership with the Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau, will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, 2200 Parks Ave.  Virginia Tourism Corporation staff will be available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for one-on-one meetings with anyone interested in learning about Virginia’s tourism marketing and development resources.  The event is free and open to the public. Reservations are not necessary.

Local businesses, including: hotels, bed and breakfasts, restaurants, shops, attractions and others will learn how to tap into the marketing power of the Virginia is for Lovers – Live Passionately campaign. Marketing ideas range from free listings on Virginia.org, the state’s official tourism Web site, to advertising in Virginia’s award-winning travel guide, along with affordable and effective advertising opportunities.

State tourism staff will also provide information on customer service enhancements, group tour planning, public relations, research and tourism development. 

The Virginia Tourism Corporation hosts the Tourism Help Desk each month in a different locality in Virginia. The workshop brings the state’s key tourism resources directly to localities to help boost local tourism efforts and increase tourism visitation and spending on a state and local level.

Tourism is a $19.2 billion industry in Virginia, supporting 210,620 jobs and generating $1.28 billion in state and local taxes for Virginia’s communities.

Media Contact: Tamra Talmadge-Anderson at ttanderson@virginia.org or (804) 545-5573.

Business Contact:  Angela Wiggins at awiggins@virginia.org or (804) 545-5553 or visit www.vatc.org/workshops.                        

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