Watch: Visit Alexandria Launches New Ad Campaign

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- Visit Alexandria will embark on a playful new ad campaign in fiscal year 2017 dubbed “Alex and Andria,” with the tagline “let’s get together,” Patricia Washington, president and CEO of Visit Alexandria, announced Monday night. The ads are the next evolution of Visit Alexandria's "Extraordinary Alexandria" brand.

Washington unveiled the ads before an audience of City leaders at Visit Alexandria's annual meeting, held at The Westin Alexandria. The ads highlight the contrasts that make Alexandria unique.

"The campaign is driven by new market research reinforcing that Alexandria is a popular destination due to our walkability, proximity to D.C., history, dining and shopping options and waterfront," Washington said. "The ads highlight these distinguishing assets that together attract people to our city again and again. The welcoming tagline 'let's get together,' conveys that Alexandria's contrasts truly blend together while reminding us why we travel in the first place -- to connect with the people we love."

Also Monday night Visit Alexandria announced that visitors spent $771 million last fiscal year, generating $25.5 million in local tax receipts; that's an increase from the previous year, when visitors spent $754 million generating $24 million in local tax receipts.

In FY2017, Visit Alexandria will employ a blend of broadcast and digital marketing in outreach to five targeted metropolitan areas south of Alexandria — Richmond; Norfolk/Virginia Beach; Charlottesville; Roanoke and Raleigh/Durham, N.C., as well as the D.C. metropolitan area.

The marketing strategy incorporates new media channels, Visit Alexandria pointed out, such as Instagram and TripAdvisor to ensure Visit Alexandria’s presence throughout the consumer’s entire vacation planning process, from inspiration to planning to their actual visit. Advertisements range from online video to digital banners and from native advertising to influencer-driven contests.

Visit Alexandria also noted that in the 2016 fiscal year, travel supported 6,340 jobs in Alexandria and saved each household more than $350 in taxes. Visit Alexandria also reported the following FY2016 results:

• 72.9 percent hotel occupancy (exceeding the national average of 65.5 percent)
• $110 revenue per available room (highest ever)
• 85,000 social media followers (+42 percent)
• 1.88 million website visits to VisitAlexandriaVA.com (+22 percent)
• 925 total press stories (+4 percent)

Visit Alexandria also shared results from an independent customer satisfaction study by Destination Analysts, one of the country’s leading tourism research firms, which found that visitors to Alexandria had an overall satisfaction rate of 99 percent, with four out of five giving it the highest possible rating. Compared with 12 other destinations, Alexandria had the highest customer satisfaction rate.

Watch one of the new "Alex and Andria" ads here: