Study finds ‘mistrust’ in Stafford, Fxbg tourism partnership, seeks changes, more funding

That partnership, between Fredericksburg City, Stafford, and Spotsylvania counties, is meant to pool the resources of each jurisdiction, to get more people to travel to the region, and bring their business events to hotels and the convention center.

In place since 1994, each jurisdiction spends $117,000 a year on the regional tourism effort. But the partnership expires on June 30, 2020, and that has local leaders in Stafford asking if they should go it alone when trying to lure tourists to breweries, wineries, and Ferry Farm, George Washington’s boyhood home on the Rappahannock River.

Wendy Maurer, on the Stafford Board of Supervisors, says Fredericksburg gets too much spotlight, and that can be confusing for new visitors and business owners in Stafford County who don’t know the geopolitical boundaries.

An encompassing tourism study commissioned by Fredericksburg found the city has bent over backward to list not only venues in the city on its website but hotels and other destinations in the surrounding counties. Stafford and Spotsylvania, according to the study, have not, choosing to only list destinations in their respective counties.

The mistrust stems from counties showing up at the same trade shows to promote the region, and some jurisdictions “failing to link back to the regional partnership’s website from their site.”

The partnership was extended by one year, giving time for the city to complete this study, which suggests

• • Leaving the partnership in place
  • Asking all three jurisdictions to increase their annual funding by $29,000
  • Hiring a full-time tourism marketing manager removing the responsibility from the departments of economic development in the city and Stafford
  • Transforming the organization from a partnership to a full-blown, non-profit Destination Marketing Organization

“The failure of the Partnership to absolutely prove its value is not dissimilar from the issues at play at the Fredericksburg Tourism Office. There is no one central individual that manages the operation on a full-time basis,” the study states.

A non-profit would be better at raising cash from private businesses for tourism-related activities and would ensure equal representation from each jurisdiction, made up of appointed members from that county or the city, the study asserts.

In a completely opposite approach, neighboring Prince William County last ended its non-profit, regional tourism organization, DiscoverPWM with Manassas City in 2017.