WILLIAMSBURG — Williamsburg domestic and international tourism is on a “slow but steady” rise following the slashed travel rates of the pandemic, according to the Williamsburg Tourism Council.
At its monthly meeting Tuesday, the council discussed forecasts of the international tourism rates, the current state of tourism in Williamsburg and its advertising strategic plan.
Scott Johnson, chief executive officer and president of Travel Market Insights Inc., estimated that Virginia’s international tourism rates will fully recover from the pandemic by 2024. While some countries have quickly rebounded in visiting the United States, others remain below the tourism rates of 2019.
Johnson urged the council to aim resources at appealing to international tourists, who he said tend to stay longer in the area and spend three to four more times the money than domestic tourists.
Members of the council, who represent local hotels, restaurants, historic tourism destinations and other attractions in the Historic Triangle, reported similar experiences. They said they are seeing increased wages, higher product costs due to inflation and a plateau in the latter half of the summer, but also have been able to hire more staff and have noticed more tourism in the area.
Some organizations, such as Historic Jamestown, are seeing higher numbers of ticket sales than ever before.
“We’re doing very well. People are back and they’re spending money,” said James Horn, president and chief officer of the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation, which supports the preservation, education and the archaeological investigation of Historic Jamestowne. “We had probably the highest ticketing revenue we’ve ever had last year, so hopefully, that’s going to be true of others, too.”
Williamsburg has seen increased out-of-state tourism, with about 60% of visitors coming from across the country, the council reported last week. The Williamsburg Tourism Council spent $11.2 million on marketing and advertising, broadcasting Williamsburg to Boston or New York. The advertisements are online, on cable, on social media, on the radio and newly on TikTok. There were 74.4 million global impressions in May and June.
“We’re targeting everyone from, I like to say from birth to death, but we’ve got a vast majority of active mature families, Gen X couples, millennial couples, so you really are targeting everybody,” said Victoria Cimino, the executive director and chief executive officer of Visit Williamsburg. “Our performance continues to be strong.”
Madison Peek, madison.peek@virginiamedia.com
