The reopening of America’s international borders on November 8 has brought a flurry of renewed interest in travel to the United States. Along with that increased interest comes many questions from travelers, as well as from travel professionals themselves, on what to expect when visiting their destination of interest. To meet that need, Virginia Tourism has created a comprehensive web-based resource to help answer the top questions on travelers’ minds as they plan a trip to The Commonwealth.
“Our goal was to make it easier for our international visitors and travel partners to plan a trip to Virginia,” said Global Marketing Director Heidi Johannesen. “All the details we link to, or reference, can be found on the internet. But for potential visitors and travel planners to find it all on their own requires exhaustive effort. So, we put the links travelers need in one comprehensive section.”
Easily accessed on the International Visitors page of the tourism bureaus’ consumer-facing website, Virginia.org, the new web portal offers direct links to topics of major interest, including U.S. COVID-19 travel guidelines; Virginia COVID-19 protocols; vaccination rate status; WHO-approved vaccines; and safety measures at Virginia’s primary international airport, Washington Dulles International in Chantilly, Virginia.
Drilling down even further, the section offers links to major Virginia destinations and attractions, making it easy for visitors to learn about safety measures and hours of operation for many of the prime stops on a Virginia itinerary. Visitors to the page also will find answers to frequently asked questions and a summary of one travel professional’s COVID safety observations and insights during a recent visit to Virginia.
“We acknowledge today’s travelers have a lot of questions and that we can’t answer them all ourselves, said Johannesen. “But the information is there, direct from the experts, such as the CDC, State Department, and our Governor’s office. By connecting people with answers and making it easier for them to plan their trip, we hope to show international travelers how genuinely excited we are to welcome them back to Virginia.”