Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau Invites Residents to Help Shape the Region’s Next Brand Identity

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau (CACVB) has officially launched a community-led brand development initiative grounded in the voices, values, and vision of the people who live, work, and create in the region. This effort helps the CACVB execute on the goals of its Tourism Master Plan by promoting and enhancing the visitor experience through targeted marketing of the region’s unique cultural and natural attractions.

This summer, the CACVB is inviting all residents to share their perspectives and ideas to help shape a new brand identity for Charlottesville and Albemarle County as a visitor destination. The effort includes both an online survey and a series of seven public town hall meetings throughout July, each open to residents from across the city and county and delivered in multiple languages.

“The storytelling of our region has been in others’ hands for far too long,” says Courtney Cacatian, Executive Director of the CACVB. “Through this process, our residents will be able to express what they want the world to know about visiting Charlottesville and Albemarle County. We will craft a message that welcomes everyone on the terms established by our people and their vision of who we are and want to be.”

The online survey, which is live now and will remain open through July 31, 2025, asks residents to share anonymously how they see the community today and how they hope it will be seen by visitors in the future. This survey hopes to capture real resident sentiment about visitors and the stories they want to tell about the region. Residents can access the survey and find more information about the initiative at www.weseeyoucville.org.

“Our region’s economy depends on attracting both visitors and businesses, with the tourism industry contributing nearly $1 billion in local spending in 2023,” said Andrea Copeland, CEO of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber and CACVB Board member. “As a lifelong resident, I believe in the power of community members to tell their own stories. I’m excited to see how this town hall and survey initiative will engage our residents and leadership in ways that will create a more connected and inclusive community.”

In addition to the digital survey, the initiative includes seven in-person town hall-style meetings scheduled throughout the month of July. These meetings will be hosted in community spaces across Charlottesville and Albemarle County and are designed to ensure participation from a broad cross-section of residents. Each session will last one hour and will also offer a virtual Zoom option for those unable to attend in person. Meeting dates and locations will be published in the coming weeks.

“Visitors are an economic boon to our region,” said Russ Cronberg, Vice-Chair of the CACVB Board, and Director of Hospitality with the UVA Foundation. “It's essential that our area has a strong brand that visitors connect with, because a strong visitor economy means that our small businesses thrive, and our residents have a lower tax burden."

“Our community has been touted in international publications for its welcoming and innovative approaches to destination promotion, and it’s high time we invited the community alongside us in crafting those messages and building community pride,” Courtney Cacatian continued. “Having been an active member of this community for the past six years - and hopefully many more to come - I can’t wait to hear from our passionate, actively engaged community members.”

The community-led brand development project is being facilitated by Charrette, a creative agency specializing in civic storytelling and place-based brand strategy. The insights gathered during this engagement phase will directly inform the creation of a new destination brand for the region, which will be unveiled in fall 2025.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Take the survey: www.weseeyoucville.org/survey
Learn More and Download a Media Kit: www.weseeyoucville.org/toolkit
Attend a Town Hall: Dates and locations to be announced soon


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About the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau

The Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau (CACVB) welcomes thousands of visitors to the region each year from all over the world who are seeking a variety of unique experiences in history, food, wine, spirits, and adventure. The CACVB serves as the global resource for marketing the tourism assets of the City of Charlottesville and County of Albemarle, and assists tour operators, meeting planners, and other groups in planning visits to the destination. The CACVB’s mission is to enhance the economic prosperity of the people of the City and County by promoting, selling, and marketing the area as a destination, in pursuit of the meetings and tourism markets.