While many challenges remain in the world of travel, we have some positive momentum going into the spring.
First, with the Restoring Brand USA Act as part of the recent spending bill signed by President Biden, our national voice for promoting inbound tourism to the US is secure.
Capital Region USA participates in many Brand USA programs, as do our partners, and as the world slowly emerges from COVID, telling the story of the US will take on an even more critical role as travelers weigh their destination choices.
Next, CRUSA recently completed its first sales and media missions since February 2020. We took a group of partners from Destination DC, the Virginia Tourism Corporation, Visit Fairfax, Visit Baltimore, and the Virginia Beach CVB to the UK and Ireland for a week of meetings with our key tour operator partners and media. The missions were arranged by Lisa Chamberlain (trade) and the Brighter Group (PR), CRUSA's representatives for the UK and Irish markets.
As one of the first destinations to return to the UK for a mission, Capital Region was able to sell itself and tell its many stories of why travelers should choose our region for their next international trip.
We’ll hold missions in Germany at the end of April and France at the end of June.
Finally, we will open registration for our Global Travel Exchange on Monday, April 4. This first-ever marketplace will be held at The Madison Hotel in Washington, DC from October 10-12, with pre- and post-fam tours. We are limiting participation to 20 from each CRUSA partner (a total of 60 DMOs, hotels, attractions, etc.), and sign-ups will be on a first-come basis. Please plan to join us next fall in DC!
Thank you for your continued support and partnership.