Arlington County unveils new marketing campaign in attempt to boost tourism

Arlington County’s tourism arm has a new look and a new slogan.

On Thursday, the county unveiled a new marketing campaign, which officials hope will boost tourism. While Arlington remains a top destination in Virginia, it has seen a significant drop in visitors due to the pandemic.

With the assistance of a $3.25 million grant through the American Rescue Plan Act, the county hired an outside marketing agency, Fuseideas LLC, to help design a new website and slogan – “All in Arlington” – aiming to spotlight Arlington’s diverse attractions, cultural experiences, and historical landmarks to visitors outside the national capital region.

“‘All in Arlington’ represents the culmination of insights reflecting a changing destination landscape and new ways that Arlington satisfies the needs and expectations of post-pandemic visitors,” the county said in a press release. “With accolades including #1 Fittest U.S. City, #4 Best Park System in America, Platinum Walk Friendly Community, and #2 Happiest Place in the U.S., Arlington and its diverse, welcoming neighborhoods combine the best of city life and urban outdoor living.”

During an event at the Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center Thursday, Arlington Chamber of Commerce CEO Kate Bates told a room of county staff and elected officials that the federal stimulus funds would allow the county to “dramatically expand marketing, sales, advertising, and public relations activities through June of 2024.”

“These investments are important to all of our community. They will result in more meetings, leisure and business visitors, more spending in Arlington, and more revenues reinvested into our community,” she said.

Arlington was “one of the hardest areas hit” regions of the state, according to county staff, experiencing a 57% decline in visitor spending and a 65% decline in accommodation (hotels) spending in 2020.

Emily Cassell, director of the Arlington Convention and Visitors Service, said in a statement that before the pandemic Arlington was ranked “Virginia’s #1 county for visitor spending.”

In 2019, tourism spending in Arlington rose to $3.6 billion, topping the previous record set in 2018, and generated $97.8 million in local tax revenue.

In 2021, Cassell said tourism spending was approximately $2.8 billion and generated $114 million in local taxes. But she expressed optimism that the new branding, website and upcoming media campaign, dubbed “Go All In,” would “further accelerate our industry’s recovery toward 2019’s record performance and beyond.”

During the unveiling Thursday, Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said localities have recovered much faster than expected due to the injection of federal funds into sectors such as tourism

“We’ve completely recovered all the jobs, no country in the world is recovering as quickly from the pandemic as we have. And the fact that a piece of that recovery is a new branding for Arlington tourism is a really good thing,” he said.