Norfolk International Airport Information

Updated airport information for visitors to Virginia Beach is below. This version features the addition of Frontier Airlines nonstop flights to Phoenix and Tampa (on sale now; service effective Nov 17). Passenger service enhancements include the addition of charging stations terminal wide and electric vehicle charging stations. Note: Travelex Foreign Currency Exchange will close permanently August 28.

Allegiant, American, Delta, Frontier, Southwest, United and their regional airline partners offer over 130 nonstop flights to 26 major airports. The high level of international gateway access provides one-stop capability to most major cities worldwide. According to the FAA, Norfolk International Airport’s passenger activity is ranked in the top 13% of commercial service airports in the United States with nearly 3.4 million scheduled passengers served in 2017.

With eight on-site rental car companies, a dedicated airport shuttle service, taxi cabs and transportation network carriers (Uber and Lyft), ground transportation is provided to the entire area 24 hours a day. Various shops, restaurants and personal services are available in the Departures Terminal to serve the needs of travelers.

As the area’s major airport, Norfolk International Airport is poised for growth and is dedicated to serving the region and its visitor’s needs with convenient air service in an efficient and pleasant travel environment.

Click the link below to read more.

ORF Info August 2018 Virginia Beach

CRUSA China Sales Mission Hong Kong

Here are some images from the Hong Kong stop on the Capital Region USA China Sales Mission last week. Ron traveled to Beijing, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Other CRUSA members on the trip were Scott Balyo, Exec. Director of CRUSA, Louis Lou, Destination DC, Portia Conerly, Arlington (VA) CVB, And Melissa McClure, Visit Fairfax, CVB.

Feature in Huffington Post Québec

We are thrilled to share the following article from Huffington Post Québec.  This daily online news outlet attracts over 2,500,000 unique visits to their website.

 

http://quebec.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/10/06/manger-des-huitres-les-pieds-dans-l-eau-a-virginia-beach_a_23234225/?utm_hp_ref=qc-voyage

 

This artist article’s title translates to:

Eating oysters in Virginia Beach with both feet in the water.

Two thirds of the article is about the Pleasure House Oysters experience and describing it in great details including how we can bring wine for the oyster pairing and the educational aspect of the tour.

It then covers parasailing and paddle boarding as soft adventure experiences and then lists their favorite culinary recommendations including Tautogs, Esoteric, Swedish, Watermans and its famous Orange Crush and the Chesapeake Bay Distillery.

The article ends with a mention of the upcoming re-opening of the Cavalier Hotel!

 

TOWNE BANK BUILDING MUST DISCONTINUE USE OF UNGERBOCK BY 10/10/17

Please be aware that we must discontinue our use of Ungerboeck at the TOWNE BANK BUILDING by the close of business on 10/10/17.

Our EBMS data will be delivered to Simpleivew by 9am EST on 10/11/17.

This will give them ample time to complete the final data import prior to our on-site training scheduled to take place during the week of 10/16/17.

I’m counting on you to spread the word.

Convention & Visitors Bureau Hosts International Travel and Tourism Industry Professionals

According to U.S. Travel Association, international inbound travelers are estimated to have made 75.6 million visits to the United States in 2016.  The CVB has positioned the city to capture its share of those travelers by marketing Virginia Beach in four countries overseas. In addition to neighboring Canada, the CVB’s International Tourism division actively pursues groups and individuals from China, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

 

The International Tourism team recently showcased our coastal city to two groups of Chinese travel writers and tour operators. During guided familiarization tours around the city, the groups explored many of our districts and attractions and participated in several of our more popular excursions. Upon returning to China, the writers will craft and publish articles about their first-hand Virginia Beach experiences, and the tour operators will develop itineraries for the benefit of potential visitors to Virginia Beach.

 

Three more groups of travel writers and tour operators from France, the United Kingdom and Canada are scheduled to arrive and tour Virginia Beach in early October.

Photo caption: CVB guests ready to enjoy an iFly adventure

Dream Article published on Virginia Beach!

Two huge hits for Virginia Beach in the Canadian Market!

Le Journal de Montreal is a French Canadian daily tabloid newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec. It is the largest-circulating newspaper in Quebec and the highest-circulating French language daily newspaper in North America. An amazing 2-page color-spread appeared on Saturday, July 15th, the day of the week with the largest circulation, i.e. 1,397,000 readers for the print version.  The web site on which the article also appeared attracts over 3.2 million unique visitors per month.

  • They also featured the article on Le Journal de Montreal‘s Facebook page  which has 606,217 followers and on the travel writers personal Facebook page who has 4,915 followers
  • Le Journal de Montreal – 432 likes, 198 comments and 141 shares

http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2017/07/15/la-nouvelle-virginia-beach

  • Le Journal de Quebec is a French-language daily newspaper in Quebec City and is printed tabloid format too.  It also belongs to Quebecor and has the largest daily circulation in Quebec City followed closely by its main competitor Le Soleil.
  • It has over 705,000 readers on Saturdays
  • Over 1.6 million unique visitors to their web site every month.
  • Le Journal de Quebec also posted our article on their Facebook page which has over 363,142 fans.  We received great engagement for this point (see attached).
  • Le Journal de Quebec – 187 likes, 140 comments, 49 shares

http://www.journaldequebec.com/2017/07/15/la-nouvelle-virginia-beach

The article covers some of our key brand messages including:

  • The New Virginia Beach with its three beaches, growing microbrewery and restaurant scene making the destination one which now has a whole lot more to offer than just a beach.
  • Soft Adventure (Paddle to Blue Pete’s)
  • ViBe Creative District
  • New Earth Farm
  • Chespeake Bay Distillery
  • Our three beaches and their distinctive vibes and offerings
  • First Landing State Park
  • Ways to get here (car, plane)
  • Pleasure House Oyster (very nice and elaborate coverage)

1st page July 15 2017 (2)

2nd page, July 15, 2017

VB Presence Grows in Chinese Social Media Platform, Weibo

The Virginia Beach tourism Weibo social media account recently secured 557,618 followers thanks to more than 1,100 posts promoting the “Live the Life” vacation brand. The Pacific Asia Travel Association, which analyzes international travel and tourism trends in the Asia-Pacific region, forecasts that nearly five million Chinese travelers will visit the U.S. each year by 2020 with an annual growth rate of about 13 percent during the next five years. By 2020, China will be the largest international source market for the U.S. excluding Canada and Mexico. This will cause a pivotal shift in the visitor pie chart that has been dominated by Japan and the U.K. for decades. In 2016, the Chinese traveler market was the number one market for the Capital Region USA with more than 300,000 Chinese arrivals. It is important for Virginia Beach to have this rapidly growing market as a focus in its International marketing strategy. China currently ranks in the top five markets visiting our region. Showcasing unique experiences, here is a sampling of the CVB’s recent social media efforts in China to raise awareness of Virginia Beach as a fun, world-class leisure vacation destination.