Business
New data shows Richmond area saw record $2.8 billion in tourism spending in 2021
Visitor spending amounts to $138.3 million in local tax and $78.6 million in state tax revenues.
New data released this month shows positive momentum for the region’s growing tourism industry. Visitor spending increased 6.7% in 2021 compared to a pre-pandemic comparison in 2019, bringing in a record $2.8 billion for the local economy and supporting almost 24,000 jobs.
According to figures from Tourism Economics commissioned by the Virginia Tourism Corporation, Richmond Region Tourism partner localities – including Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico, New Kent counties, Richmond, Colonial Heights and the town of Ashland – generated a combined total of $2.8 billion across lodging, food and beverage, retail, recreation and transportation spending. The visitor spending amounts to $138.3 million in local tax and $78.6 million in state tax revenues.
Visitor spending in 2019 was $2.6 billion.
“This is another sign of our local tourism industry’s strength and resiliency,” said Jack Berry, president and CEO of Richmond Region Tourism. “Tourism is an important economic engine that creates jobs, while supporting small businesses and our entire community. The latest numbers help highlight the Richmond Region as a thriving and welcoming destination that people want to experience.”
Richmond Region Tourism’s leaders point to sports tournaments and events, and an increased emphasis on promoting the region’s diversity as factors for the growth. Meetings and conventions, leisure, and friends and family travel also contributed to the gains.
An indicator of sports tourism’s expanding popularity across partner jurisdictions, sports tournaments represent 68% of Richmond Region Tourism’s overall group bookings as young athletes and families flock to the region for soccer, softball, baseball, lacrosse and other competitions.
Awareness about the region’s diversity is helping drive visitor interest as well, according to Richmond Region Tourism leaders. The organization launched BLK RVA with local community leaders in 2019 to celebrate the region’s Black community, businesses and culture. Visitor data from Longwoods International reveals travel by African-Americans to the Richmond Region is 27%, which is 12% higher compared to the national average. The BLK RVA campaign joins OutRVA, a program created to highlight the area’s LGBTQ community, in conjunction with Richmond Region Tourism’s overall focus to promote the region’s diverse community.
Local tourism continues to experience significant gains: Earlier this year, hotels in the Richmond Region set a new collective record for annual occupancy tax revenue. For the 2022 fiscal year ending this past June 30, total lodging tax revenue reached $30,817,871, edging the previous high in 2019 of $30,014,047.
Direct visitor spending (in millions) within the Richmond Region Tourism footprint for the calendar year 2021 is listed below:
| Locality | Total Visitor Spending | Local Tax Receipts
| Employment |
| CHESTERFIELD | $535.9 | $26.1 | 5,579 |
| COLONIAL HEIGHTS | $96.5 | $4.7 | 1,003 |
| *HANOVER | $204.2 | $9.2 | 1,926 |
| HENRICO | $1,350.4 | $61.5 | 8,760 |
| NEW KENT | $27.9 | $1.1 | 203 |
| RICHMOND CITY | $643.5 | $35.6 | 6,437 |
| Regional Total | $2,858.4 | $138.3 | 23,908 |
*Hanover data includes Town of Ashland tourism numbers
All data was received by the VTC from Tourism Economics and is based on travelers from within the United States taking trips 50 miles or more away from home.
Business
New full-service commercial kitchen, fast casual food hall opens Wednesday
The new facility consists of 16 kitchen suites, each operating unique dining concepts. For the initial launch, ChefSuite has announced three restaurant concepts available for pick-up or delivery through their website, order.chefsuite.com, or through DoorDash, UberEats, GrubHub, and other delivery apps.
ChefSuite, a full-service commercial cooking facility and fast-casual food hall, will open its flagship location in midtown at 4711 W. Broad Street this Wednesday. The brainchild of co-founders Jay Modi and Jarnail Tucker, and Chairman Andrew Kadish, ChefSuite provides ghost kitchens for both new restaurateurs and seasoned chefs, allowing them to open or expand their restaurant business at a fraction of the cost of a traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant.
“ChefSuite’s mission is to provide a seamless experience for restaurateurs to focus on their dream,” Kadish said in a news release. “ChefSuite features a fool-proof system that supports our chef tenants with every opportunity to succeed.”
The new facility consists of 16 kitchen suites, each operating unique dining concepts. For the initial launch, ChefSuite has announced three restaurant concepts available for pick-up or delivery through their website, order.chefsuite.com, or through DoorDash, UberEats, GrubHub, and other delivery apps.
Restaurants at launch include On A Roll Italian Subs; Latin Quarter Kitchen, specializing in smashed plantain sandwiches; and A Pinch of Sugar, offering comfort food. Additional restaurant concepts will be added to ChefSuite’s offerings in the coming months, owners say.
For chef tenants, each suite is equipped with a CaptiveAire exhaust hood, commercial use sinks, gas/fire safety systems, grease traps, hot/cold water lines, industrial water heater, shelving, tablet, and order printer. ChefSuite also provides cold storage, a cooking oil removal system, third party app onboarding, consulting services, financial reporting, and substantial vendor discounts. ChefSuite offers tenants flexible lease terms with options to include cooking equipment.
Business
Richmond Flying Squirrels hosting series of job fairs ahead of 2023 season
Positions are available in food & beverage, ticketing and operations for the team’s home games from April through September.
The Richmond Flying Squirrels are looking to hire part-time, game-day positions for the upcoming baseball season. The team has three upcoming job fairs for interested candidates to fill out applications and find out information about available positions.
Positions are available in food & beverage, ticketing and operations for the team’s home games from April through September. Information on the Flying Squirrels’ upcoming job fairs can be found here. The 2023 game schedule can be found here.
The job fairs will take place at The Diamond (3001 N Arthur Ashe Boulevard, Richmond, VA 23230) on the following dates:
- Wednesday, March 8, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Saturday, March 25, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Thursday, March 30, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Available positions include:
FOOD & BEVERAGE
TICKETING
OPERATIONS
Questions regarding game-day positions with the Flying Squirrels can be directed to [email protected].
The Flying Squirrels open the 2023 on Friday, April 7 against the Reading Fightin Phils. Individual-game tickets, including tickets for Opening Night, are available now online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets, by phone at 804-359-FUNN (3866) or in person at the Flying Squirrels ticket office.
Business
Feed More relocating food bank and other operations to new $40 million facility north of city
The local nonprofit confirmed to BizSense that it’s behind Project Nourish, the development plan recently filed with Henrico County for a wooded site at 8020 Villa Park Drive.
From Richmond BizSense:
A code-named industrial project in the works near St. Joseph’s Villa has turned out to be the planned new home for regional food bank Feed More, setting the stage for a move that would free up some prime real estate near Richmond’s Diamond District.
The local nonprofit confirmed to BizSense that it’s behind Project Nourish, the development plan recently filed with Henrico County for a wooded site at 8020 Villa Park Drive.
The project name is a reference to Feed More’s slogan of “nourishing communities and empowering lives.”
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