Danville’s Economic Development and Tourism Authority is hiring more employees to meet the increased workload as inquiries from industry have increased and tourism programs in the area have been added.
Bobe
Cory T. Bove, Danville’s director of economic development and tourism, told the Danville Register &. bee.
For example, industry inquiries about the Southern Virginia megasite in Berry Hill have increased this year and last year, said Mayor Ken Larking.
There will be 14 site visits to the Megapark in 2021 and 10 so far in 2022.
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“We have seen a significant increase in the number of prospective customers considering our area,” he said. “We needed more people to give our prospects the best information.”
The city authorities are currently seeking to fill two new positions in the Economic Development and Tourism Department, Tourism Sales Coordinator and Marketing Coordinator.
“Additional capacity has been added to the marketing team, which works directly with the office’s business development and tourism departments,” said Bove.
Larking
Additionally, a visitor center manager could be hired in the future, depending on how much revenue the city generates, Larking said. There is currently no funding for this position.
All three new positions were assigned to the 2022-23 budget during the budget process earlier this year.
The Tourism Sales Coordinator is responsible for supporting the sales, marketing and administrative activities of the Economic Development and Tourism Authority. The annual salary range for that position is $34,085 at the lowest, $44,310 for him in the middle, and $54,536 for him at the highest.
The Marketing Coordinator assists with promotion and marketing to the travel and business communities in the Danville and Pittsylvania County areas. The salary range for the position is the same as for the Tourism Sales Coordinator.
If you hire a visitor center manager, you’ll get paid $36,864 to $47,923, $58,982 annually.
Current positions within the Department of Economic Development and Tourism also include: Director of Economic Development and Tourism. Assistant Director of Economic Development and Tourism. Special Projects Manager; Marketing and Research Manager; Tourism Manager; Part-time Travel Counselor at the Danville Visitor Centre.
Bove said the operating budget for economic development, tourism and the visitor center is about $1.5 million, not including facility maintenance, merchandise and incentives.
The city is also considering hiring an assistant economic development director, a position that became vacant on Friday. Barbara Fiedor, who has been at the job for about a year, is no longer employed by the city, Larking said.
Danville set up a tourism department just last year and hired a new tourism manager about a year ago. The city used to have a parks and recreational tourism program, but it was demolished about ten years ago.
“We are organizing our tourism staff to best support the new program led by our tourism manager,” said Bobe. “Our office is now overseeing the operations of the Danville Visitor Center and is building a part-time travel counselor staff to increase our ability to serve individuals visiting the area.”
Danville is the destination marketing organization for Danville and Pittsylvania County.
With the Caesars Virginia Casino Resort scheduled to open in 2024, the city is expected to attract two million visitors annually.
“We expect millions of people to come to the resort each year,” Larking said. “We want to have a solid tourism marketing program.”
As for business prospects showing interest in Danville and elsewhere, Bobe says, “We continue to gain momentum across Southern Virginia, and the level of interest from prospects has increased significantly over the past two years.” said.
The Department of Economic Development and Tourism’s mission is to improve the economic health and quality of life of the City of Danville through creating and retaining jobs, building local wealth and increasing the tax base, said Bobe. said.
Every day is unique as our office staff oversee a variety of projects. Economic development and tourism teams are working long hours well beyond traditional weekday hours, Larking said.
“To ensure that people considering investing in our region have the information they need to make decisions, they often work long hours into the evenings and weekends,” Larking said. I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” he said. .
Most economic development projects are time-sensitive, so staff work only the hours they need to meet the required deadlines, Bobe said.
“We are fortunate to have a strong team that works together to fulfill the mission of our division,” Beauvais said. “They can balance multiple projects at once and deliver quality materials and information to prospective businesses and visitors.”
