Visitor Information Center
112 South Street SE, Suite 200
Leesburg, VA 20175
800-752-6118 | 703-771-2170
Education & Networking
Visit Loudoun University is Visit Loudoun's education initiative that includes a variety of seminars and information programs designed to keep you connected, learning, and collaborating with Visit Loudoun and with one another, and to help you grow your tourism business.
These programs are open to all tourism and hospitality professionals – including front-line personnel, sales, marketing, management, and owners – of attractions, accommodations, meeting and event facilities and vendors, recreation facilities, retail shops, restaurants, and visitor services.
Visit Loudoun University programs include the Tourism Forums, Resource Hours, FAM Tours, and the Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA) Training Program. Unless advertised, and except for the CTA Training Program, all Visit Loudoun University events are free to attend.
Subscribe to our industry email notifications here.
Tourism Forums
The Tourism Forums are held quarterly. Attendance is free unless otherwise noted and the program is designed to encourage industry partners to:
- Network
- Receive important updates on Visit Loudoun sales, marketing, and public relations programs
- Learn from presentations on topics that are relevant to tourism businesses and the Loudoun tourism industry
Want to host a Forum or sponsor refreshments?
Showcase your business to other tourism industry colleagues, be included in the pre-promotion of the program, and have an opportunity to provide a two-minute overview of your business to the program participants. Hosts may also give a tour of their property or business after the program.
Have an idea or request for a topic or speaker?
If you would like to learn about a topic that would be of interest to the industry, or have heard a speaker (or ARE a speaker) that you think would offer something valuable to our audience, let us know!
PAST FORUM PROGRAMS
Marketing Loudoun Internationally : March 21, 2013
Presentation
Familiarization Tours
Familiarization tours are bus tours of visitor attractions, shopping, dining, and accommodations throughout the county. The tours are free and are a great way to get your front-line employees and volunteers to learn about all the things to see and do in the county, so they can refer visitors. By experiencing these places, they can better promote them, which turns into visitors staying longer and spending more money! The FAMs are offered four times a year.
C T A Training
The Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA) Program is a nationwide certification program. The local program was created by the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership and focuses on the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area, the 180-miles along Routes 15 and 20 from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia. The program builds your knowledge of visitor attractions in our community and the entire Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area, enhances your skills in serving customers, increases your awareness of information resources, and reminds participants about the power of tourism. The certification course is a four-hour fun learning experience. The cost is $49/person, and the pre-read resource materials are included. For more information on the program, click here.
