Stafford debates its future support of a half-million dollar local tourism deal

STAFFORD — Stafford leaders are talking about where to best spend their money when it comes to attracting tourists to the county.

The county’s tourism office recommended extending a regional tourism partnership with neighboring jurisdictions Fredericksburg, and Spotsylvania County which costs each jurisdiction $171,000 annually. That’s a total of more than a half-million dollars of taxpayer money spent on marketing the Fredericksburg region as a whole.

“We couldn’t pay $171,000 and get the kind of joint marketing we could get from his joint agreement anywhere else,” said Lisa Logan, with the county’s tourism office.

To date, the tourism effort has netted multiple tour groups who travel in motor coaches to the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, a dinner theater in Falmouth, and to Ferry Farm — George Washington’s boyhood home along the Rappahannock River.

The regional tourism partnership is in the final year of a three-year deal that ends June 30. When Stafford leaders approved it last time, they said to see their county’s name in lights equal to Fredericksburg, known for its downtown and Spotsylvania, known to Civil War buffs for its Wilderness Battlefield.

Apparently, someone heard them.

“We’ve come a long way just to get Stafford’s name on their literature,” said Rock Hill District Supervisor Wendy Maurer.

Officials admit that Fredericksburg is the powerhouse name and the reason why vacationers travel to the area.

“Like it or not, Fredericksburg means something to people around the world. So, let’s get the people who are visiting Fredericksburg into our hotels and our restaurants,” said Holden.

He urged county leaders to extend by one year, which would be enough time for his office to conduct a tourism study and identify new ways to market the county to travelers.

In the meantime, Logan told Supervisors she would work to get more detailed information on the number visitors the county has seen in recent years that are directly attributed to the partnership.

“How do we know they’re not steering people into the city to stay at the Marriott downtown?” asked Falmouth District Supervisor Meg Bohmke. 

 “This agreement is one based on trust,” replied Logan. “Trust, but verify.” 

If the agreement is extended, Holden told Supervisors he would be back in December of this year with a new tourism marketing plan. His request was heard during a March 5 meeting of the county’s Community and Economic Development Committee, which asked Holden to return to next month’s committee meeting for further discussion on the matter.

Stafford County has participated in the regional tourism marketing partnership since 1994.