Visitor Spending Reaches Record $826M In Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Visitor spending in Alexandria grew to a record $826 million last year, a $36 million increase from the previous year, according to new data from the Virginia Tourism Corporation. Visit Alexandria, the membership-based tourism organization for the city, made the announcement at its annual meeting Monday.

Tax receipts from visitors, defined as people who travel from 50 or more miles to Alexandria, also rose from $26.6 million in 2016 to $27.4 million in 2017. This year, the city became the first jurisdiction in Virginia to charge a tax on Airbnb rentals, creating another source of visitor revenue for the city.

"This is a pivotal year for Alexandria as we face unprecedented competition," said Patricia Washington, president and CEO of Visit Alexandria, in a statement. "This challenge unites us and energizes us to work smarter, relying on big data to drive our marketing decisions, and to continue to improve the quality of experiences and programs our City has to offer."

Despite the success in visitor spending, numbers for hotels slightly fell. The average hotel occupany rate for fiscal year 2018 was 72.5 percent, compared to 73 percent last year. Revenue per available room dropped to $111 from $113 the previous year. The hotel occupancy rate is still higher than the DC regional average (71.3 percent).

The coming months present a lot to look forward to. The King Street waterfront park will open in October, kicking off with the Portside in Old Town Festival from Oct. 12-14. Activities will include free tours of the tall ship Godspeed, a waterfront beer garden from Port City Brewing Company, a pop-up Pizzeria Paradiso, live music and more.

The Portside in Old Town will continue as a series, offering free pop-up activities in history, art, music and fitness. It's all part of the King Street Corridor Initiative, a programming, beautification and marketing campaign funded by the city and private partners. Additional programming at the new waterfront park will lead up to the summer 2019 arrival of Tall Ship Providence, a permanent attraction for the city.

Visit Alexandria will launch Portside in Old Town, free-to-the-public themed weekend happenings in history, art, music and fitness with activities for families and for adults, plus additional pop-up experiences and events.

Another focus will be marketing to emphasize Alexandria as a destination for meetings. The campaign touts Alexandria's proximity to DC and an experience that exceeds expectations.

Similarly, the group continues to look to regional visitors, who account for 43 percent of consumption taxes, as sources of visitor spending. When combined, regional and destination visitors pay 71 percent of consumption taxes in the city, which is based on 2016 Visa credit card data.

Challenges that Visit Alexandria will tackle next year range from competition from the new Wharf DC as a waterfront destination and the shutdown of Alexandria's Metro stations from Memorial Day to Labor Day 2019. Visit Alexandria staff are on a city task force to mitigate the impact of the Metro shutdown. The group will encourage transportation alternatives to keep visitors coming to Alexandria when the Metro stations are closed. The city could release a plan as early as the winter.

Image via K. Summerer/Visit Alexandria