Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1468083
B M & T ••• May/June 2022 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 16 looking for small cities. Visit Alexandria began to market outdoor activities. It is a remarkably walkable city. So they began marketing a Walk on King Street Mile of shops "A great shopping district." Visit Alexandria now has a walkable art dis- trict, walkable architecture tours, walka- ble Black history tours, all of which have been responded to well by increased local and tourist appreciation. The public art on the waterfront is another walkable experience. In addition, the Virginia state explosion in outdoor dining has been a windfall for Alexandria as well. The clo- sure of lower block of King Street and making that a pedestrian block has been very successful in drawing people to lower King Street. Retail dipped during lockdown of 2020. It rebounded to 2019 numbers for June to February 2021and has been exceeding pre pandemic levels since March 2021.The same with meals tax. It bottomed out April 2020 and has been a slow recovery over the next several months until April May 2021 where it came near pre pandemic levels. In June and July 2021 it actually exceeded pre pandemic levels. Lodging taxes for March of 2021 were down 74% rom March of 2019. Then we have seen a steady increase over the next five months , down only 23% over the next five months to August 2021. Alexandria is recovering from COVID. Business travel and meetings continues to lag. At the onset and height of the pan- demic, team Visit Alexandria held meet- ings virtually, site visits and virtual events with meeting planners. Under Washing- ton's leadership they worked hard to maintain meetings on the books and to bring in new business meetings. Alexandria has a high rate of Associa- tions and Non profits in the nation, sec- ond to Washington, DC. With a safety first approach, they developed the Alex Promise Program to go above and beyond established protocols in order to keep COVID numbers low, vaccinations high and continue to make it safe for all. Black Travel Campaign The Alexandria Tourism Board has teamed up with Creative Theory Agency, one of the top small Advertising Companies in the nation according to Advertising Age Magazine. Together they are developing a campaign to go after the 109 Billion Black Travel market. It is a campaign geared toward the five hour drive radius. It promotes Alexandria's Iconic and new Experie- nces. It encourages African Americans within a five hour driving radius to drop in and check it out the offerings of Alexandria, VA. The 5 hour radius markets include DC, Baltimore, Richmond, Norfolk- /Virginia Beach, Raleigh/Durham, Roanoke/Lynchburg, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and New York. This represents about 60 million people in total – but the adult Black traveler population in particular is of course considerably smaller, but still in the mil- lions. How Alexandria Measures Up Alexandria's peer cities with popula- tions below 175,000 include Aspen Colorado, Savannah Georgia, Key West Florida, Newport Rhode island and Greenville North Carolina for example. A signature accomplishment of Patricia Washington's Presidency is that Alexandria, Virginia was named one of the Top 3 Best Small Cities in the U.S. according to the 2021 Conde' Nast Travel Readers' Choice Awards. Alexandria landed the (#3) spot behind Aspen (#1) and Charleston (#2), while rising above other well-known destinations including Santa Fe (#4), Key West (#7) and Savannah (#8). Alexandria has ranked among the top 5 Best Small Cities for four consecutive years, since the category was created in 2018. Alexandria has been named for the three years consecutively. Washington's favorite getaway includes being with friends and family in Philadelphia. Summer 2021 she visited Santa Fe New Mexico. She said, "The cul- tural richness and diversity of the arts, food, and actual environment was inspir- ing. Native American culture, Hispanic culture, open air and 1,000 year history put many things in context." With such a wide lens, Washington sees value in every human being, every living creature, and every inanimate object. Her Eclectic musical taste includes R&B and Jazz. She is a theatre person so she loves theatre and great singers regardless of genre. Washington has tremendous respect for Tony Bennett for his use of the bel canto vocal technique. According to her, "he has been able to maintain the quality of his voice because he retained the bel canto technique." Of course, Patti Labelle and the Philadelphia Sound are among her favorite artists and musical influences. When she lived in Philadelphia she worked on musical tours with Kenny Gamble and the Philadelphia studios. Balance Is Key As a leader and a person, Yoga has helped her mind, body and spirit. For over 20 years yoga has been a great element to incorporate into her life. Other team members run, and her way of coping with stress and recharging is through yoga. The excellence and camaraderie of her team, and the culture they have cre- ated takes work. A big part of that are people being grounded while engaging in spiritual practices, physical activities and self development. She believes in having a work environment conducive to growth and freedom of expression with- in the context of the mission and vision of the organization. Patricia Washington, President of Visit Alexandria is a leader to follow. Her blue- print for COVID recovery and team