The Danville Office of Economic Development and Tourism revealed the results of their recent  regional tourism branding survey on Thursday morning at the Danville Science Center. Eddy Alexander Marketing Agency conducted and revealed the results of the wide-ranging survey.

The goal for the survey is to help development and tourism come up with a new brand identity for the region. The data came from the over 2,000 survey responses that the office got. Some of the topics that the survey asked included how proud residents in Danville and Pittsylvania County are with being affiliated with the area.  In response 15.26% of people said they were very proud to be affiliated with Danville, while 18.02% said they were very proud to be affiliated with Pittsylvania County. On a scale of one to five, the most answers fell on three for the city and county.

The survey also asked residents one word they would use to describe Danville. The biggest words in the picture below indicate the most common answers with growing being the most common answer.

Another question asked residents what their out of town guests usually say about Danville:

Residents also gave their feedback on what they would put in an itinerary for out of town guests visiting the area:

Danville and Pittsylvania County residents in the survey said they hope that the regions new brand identity will capture a number of things including the beauty and history of the area.

Danville residents said that when they picture Danville, they picture:

The residents that answered the survey also asked the same thing about Pittsylvania County:

When asked what they wanted the area’s new tourism brand to communicate the top answer among the surveys was safe.

In the survey residents were also asked how they thought Danville and Pittsylvania County could become more attractive for visitors. The top answer for both was by adding more entertainment options to the area. For the city people also mentioned improving safety and reducing crime. For the county marketing was also mentioned as another way to improve.

The results of the survey showed a long list of strengths and opportunities for the area. It also revealed a few weaknesses and threats.

The next steps for economic development and tourism post-survey were also revealed:

You can still give your thoughts on how the area can improve it’s brand strategy by texting “EDDYALEXANDER232” to 22333.