Jan. 11-2010 Alisa Bailey says Virginia Travel is the Number 1 salesman for the State of Virginia. Ms. Bailey is President and CEO of Virginia Tourism Corp. Tourism is $19 billion industry in Virginia.

Richmond Times Dispatch news article: Virginia is for lovers and Alisa Bailey is the matchmaker. "We're the No. 1 salesman for the state of Virginia," said Bailey, the president and CEO of the Virginia Tourism Corp., the state's tourism promotion agency. "Virginians sometimes like to hide their light under a bushel basket," Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said. "But Alisa takes the basket off and lets the light shine." Meanwhile, the state would like to fill that basket with money. "More people, staying longer, spending more money," Bailey said, quickly outlining her organization's mission. "Our goal is to create a bigger tax base and make sure businesses are successful." It's been working - even in a recession-pummeled economy. An estimated 60 million people annually vacation in Virginia, making tourism a $19.2 billion industry for the Old Dominion, employing 210,000 people and generating $1.28 billion in state and local taxes. Visits to Virginia's state parks were up 7.8 percent during the peak summer travel month of July, compared with the same month in 2008, and July's national park visits in the state - more than 3.2 million - were up nearly 17 percent, compared with July 2008. While hotel demand in Virginia during the first nine months of 2009 was down 2.9 percent compared with the same period the year before, demand at hotels across the U.S. fell more than twice that, according to Smith Travel Research. Bailey "is a powerhouse at what she does," said Leighton Powell, director of the Scenic Virginia organization, which works closely with Virginia Tourism. "She's taken tourism in Virginia to another level. "She's done a good job of promoting Virginia to Virginians," Powell said, "and reminding people of how great this place is, how varied it is, how beautiful it is." And, said Powell, "she's fun to be around. I think that's why she's been so successful." Since Bailey, 52, took over in 2003 as head of Virginia Tourism: •The agency achieved an inquiry-to-visitation rate of 48 percent, well above the national average of 31 percent. •Virginia moved up from 10th to eighth-highest U.S. state in domestic visitor spending. "We're very close to capturing Pennsylvania," Bailey said happily. •The "Virginia is for Lovers" state tourism slogan was inducted into the National Advertising Walk of Fame last year. •Forbes.com in 2009 ranked the "Virginia is for Lovers" advertising campaign in the top 10 tourism advertising campaigns of all time. •The agency produced the largest promotion in its history with the "40 trips in 40 weeks" campaign, to celebrate 40 years of the "Virginia is for Lovers" slogan. The goal was to get 44,000 people to enter the contest, but the promotion garnered more than 150,000. •Virginia Tourism trained more than 4,500 industry partners in customer service in 2009 alone. •The agency established a tourism micro-grant program, awarding more than $1.7 million in marketing grants, which was matched with $8 million in private-sector money.