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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Alan Fogg,
Director of Communications
afogg@fceda.org, 703-790-0600
Fairfax County Visitors Center Lures Record Number of Travelers
Almost half referred to local businesses and attractions
Fairfax County, Virginia, January 4, 2001 — A record 58,036 travelers stopped at or contacted the Fairfax County Visitors Center in 2000, the Fairfax County Convention and Visitors Bureau reported. The number topped by 4.8 percent the record 55,376 who visited or contacted the center off Interstate 95 in Lorton, Virginia, in 1999.
Visitors Center counselors directly referred 45.7 percent of the travelers to Fairfax County business establishments and tourist attractions: 12,526 to retail outlets; 8,826 to tourist attractions; 3,127 to restaurants and 2,063 to hotels. The Visitors Center welcomed the most travelers in July (7,673), August (6,738) and June (6,045), according to center records.
Tourism is an $11.6 billion-a-year industry, according to the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC). Tourism is an important sector of Fairfax County's economy too — an estimated $1.4 billion industry, according to the VTC.
"Fairfax County is fast adding to its reputation as the business center of metropolitan Washington, and we are also becoming an alternative destination for visitors to this area," said Gerald L. Gordon, president of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA). The Convention and Visitors Bureau, a division of the FCEDA, operates the center.
"From Mount Vernon to Great Falls, Fairfax County has a great diversity of attractions, and the Visitors Center is helping many travelers take advantage of those sites and many local small businesses," Gordon said.
The center is located at the Comfort Inn at 8180 Silverbrook Road, just off I-95 exit 163. It is close to historic Richmond Highway corridor attractions such as the George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens, George Mason's Gunston Hall, Woodlawn Plantation and Frank Lloyd Wright's Pope-Leighey House.
The Visitors Center is stocked with brochures on scores of tourist attractions in Fairfax County and throughout Virginia. It is open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. The phone number is 703-550-2450.
The FCEDA Web site is www.fairfaxcountyEDA.org
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