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Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance pushing end-of-summer deals [The Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg :: ]
[July 19, 2014]

Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance pushing end-of-summer deals [The Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg :: ]


(Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) July 18--WILLIAMSBURG -- With a month left to go in the traditional summer tourism season, the Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance announced a promotion to get local businesses "All In for August." The Chamber will conduct a digital promotion for all the August deals offered by area businesses from Aug. 4 through Aug. 28. The key message the Chamber is trying to send to potential visitors is that time is running out and the price is right.



Businesses are asked to create deals that are good for at least two weeks during August. The deadline for submitting the details to the Alliance is 9 a.m. Monday. Suggestions for possible offers are length-of-stay deals for hotels, buy-one-get-one-free deals for restaurants and attractions, or free gifts with a certain level of purchase for retail stores.

The Alliance will create the allinforaugust.com website to promote the deals.


So far, there's been "quite a bit" of interest in the promotion, according to Corrinna Ferguson, marketing director for the Williamsburg Area Destination Marketing Committee. She's the point person on the program.

Through May, the tourism season had been flat. An end of summer boost may be needed to stay even with 2013's numbers. Alliance president Karen Riordan said the push was being made in response to a somewhat soft summer season.

"We've been looking at the numbers and they aren't where we would like them to be," she said.

The push is also consistent with Riordan's promise during the spring that the Alliance would remain flexible enough to change things mid-season, dropping campaigns that are innefective and trying new things they think will work.

"This, to me, is a prime example of that," she said. "And I want it to be something that we are always capable of doing, reacting on the fly. We should always have these contingency plans and maybe won't have to pull the trigger on them and maybe we will." She said that people in the local tourism sector should be aware that's how the Alliance will operate now.

"We're going to have a plan, but we're going to be able to react to circumstances," she said. "There will also be a Plan B and a Plan C." Reach Vaughan by phone at 757-345-2343.

___ (c)2014 The Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg, Va.) Visit The Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg, Va.) at www.vagazette.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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