Visit Alexandria's CEO Patricia Washington To Retire

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Patricia Washington, the president and CEO of Visit Alexandria, plans to retire at the end of the fiscal year after over a decade running the membership-based tourism marketing organization.

Washington will retire effective June 30, 2024, and plans to do more travel. A search for a new CEO is beginning in the meantime.

"It’s been such a privilege to lead Visit Alexandria’s vision, culture and content-first marketing strategy for more than 11 years, and this feels like the right time for my retirement both organizationally and personally," said Washington in a statement. "Visit Alexandria is in excellent shape, with a high-performing staff, strong partnerships, clear plans, stable finances and growing tourism revenues."

Washington has served on the boards of Alexandria Arts Alliance and nonprofit Heard and is involved with the U.S. Travel Association’s Destination Advisory Council and the Northern Virginia Tourism Partnership.

Visit Alexandria works with membership organization to promote visiting to the city. The organization and the city see visitor-related tax revenues as one strategy to support city services and lessen the tax burden on Alexandria residents. During Washington's time at Visit Alexandria, sales, meals and lodging tax revenues have grown from $55 million to more than $80 million per year.

Some of Visit Alexandria's recent initiatives have been its "Drop In" campaign geared toward Black travelers, the "Expand Your ALX" campaign highlighting the diverse cultures and global cuisine throughout the city, the "Best Kept Shh!" campaign promoting Alexandria as a national destination and its first major rebranding since 2013. Visit Alexandria has also leveraged high-profile best city rankings for Alexandria like Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler.

As Washington enters her final months at Visit Alexandria, she sees opportunity with the announcement of a proposed entertainment district with a Washington Wizards and Capitals arena in Potomac Yard.

"This is a game-changing opportunity for the City of Alexandria and for Visit Alexandria’s next leader," said Washington. "I will be working diligently over the next six months to lay the groundwork for the City to maximize the potential benefit and to ensure a smooth transition to my successor."

Visit Alexandria's Board of Supervisors expressed appreciation for Washington's leadership.

"Patricia raised the bar for all of us and with all of us," said Kate Ellis, Visit Alexandria’s Board Chair and general manager at Hotel Indigo. "Her passion and positivity inspired us to reach higher and move Alexandria onto the national stage."

Visit Alexandria has brought on executive search firm SearchWide Global to find a new CEO. A job posting is expected in early January 2024.