The Danville Office of Economic Development & Tourism has released its first-ever regional Tourism Master Plan, a 118-page document that provides a strategic roadmap to help city leaders plan for and support a thriving regional tourism industry.
Paid for through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, the Tourism Master Plan was authored by the City’s Tourism Marketing Agency, Eddy Alexander, and based on extensive quantitative research, industry best practices, and extensive community input gathered through multiple visioning exercises. In addition to providing quantitative data and analysis, the plan also includes the input, ideas, and contributions of more than 2,000 local citizens and business owners who participated in multiple surveys, interviews, and focus groups across the region over the last twelve months.
The Tourism Master Plan illustrates the transformational power of tourism to contribute to a high quality of life in Southside Virginia and lays out a long-term vision that will help stakeholders align resources and work together effectively to reach the region’s full potential.
Tourism is a significant industry across the Commonwealth of Virginia and a major funder of supplemental public service spending nationwide. With this new Tourism Master Plan, city officials are looking to align resources in support of raising local quality of life for locals and visitors alike.
“We live in a beautiful area with a lot to offer our residents and visitors and now we have a plan for how to most effectively tell our story,” Danville City Manager Ken Larking said. “This master plan will serve as a guide for marketing the tourism assets in our region to visitors and residents. It will also help us to identify and help encourage new tourism assets that will drive additional visitation and increase quality of life. ”
“Tourism is often said to be the front door of economic development, raising quality of life and helping to support both talent and business attraction in an area, “Danville Economic Development Director Corrie Bobe said. “Everyone at city hall is excited about the increased business and job opportunities that this industry is already starting to provide. This new plan will help our team support the diversification of our economy, nourish our one-of-a-kind small businesses, support our local schools, and help fund many other important public services, beautification projects, and smart regional development efforts.”